Calculate your biological age
Biological age shows how old your body is functionally — and can only credibly be determined via laboratory biomarkers (epigenetic clocks or PhenoAge from blood). This free check does not measure biological age. It shows how your lifestyle compares to five factors that, in Harvard cohorts, were associated with 12–14 years of additional life expectancy.
How ageing-friendly is your lifestyle?
Used only for the life-expectancy estimate — the study reports results separately by sex.
4/5 protective factors · with all five: up to +14 years
More vegetables, fruit and whole grains, less heavily processed food.
This check does not measure your biological age — that can only be determined via laboratory biomarkers (for example epigenetic clocks or PhenoAge from blood). The additional years come from the Harvard cohort study (Li et al., Circulation 2018): those meeting all five factors had a life expectancy from age 50 that was 14 years (women) or 12 years (men) higher than those meeting none. Intermediate values are approximated by interpolation. This is a statistical association at population level — not an individual prediction and not medical advice. No inputs are stored.
How biological age is actually measured
A questionnaire cannot determine biological age — only biomarkers can. At YEARS we use two validated approaches:
Epigenetic clocks
DNA methylation patterns are analysed and translated into a biological age or a pace of ageing (for example DunedinPACE, GrimAge). They are among the most precise ageing markers available.
PhenoAge from blood
PhenoAge (Levine et al. 2018) combines nine routine blood values into a biological age and is validated against 10-year mortality — without specialist sequencing.
Frequently asked questions about biological age
What is biological age?→
Biological age describes how old your body is functionally — as opposed to your calendar age. Two people born in the same year can be biologically very different ages, depending on genetics, lifestyle and environment. It is considered a better indicator of health and life expectancy than date of birth alone.
Can biological age be calculated with a test or questionnaire?→
Not credibly, no. A questionnaire cannot measure biological age. Validated methods require laboratory data: epigenetic clocks (for example DunedinPACE, GrimAge) from a DNA methylation analysis, or Levine PhenoAge from nine blood values. Lifestyle calculators only give a rough orientation about your own habits.
How is biological age actually measured?→
Via biomarkers. Epigenetic clocks analyse DNA methylation patterns and estimate biological age, or the pace of ageing, from them. PhenoAge (Levine et al. 2018) uses nine routine blood values and is validated against 10-year mortality. Both measurements are part of the diagnostics at YEARS.
Which lifestyle factors influence biological ageing?→
In the Harvard cohort study (Li et al., Circulation 2018), five factors were associated with substantially longer life expectancy: not smoking, regular exercise, a balanced diet, at most moderate alcohol consumption and a healthy body weight. Those meeting all five had a life expectancy from age 50 that was 12 to 14 years higher.
Can you lower your biological age?→
The pace of ageing can be influenced. Studies show that epigenetic markers can change over months through lifestyle change. There are no guarantees, but the five factors above are the best-evidenced ones. Measuring before and after makes progress objectively visible.
Sources & methodology
- Li Y, Pan A, Wang DD, et al. Impact of Healthy Lifestyle Factors on Life Expectancies in the US Population. Circulation. 2018;138(4):345-355.
- Levine ME, Lu AT, Quach A, et al. An epigenetic biomarker of aging for lifespan and healthspan. Aging (Albany NY). 2018;10(4):573-591. (PhenoAge)
- Belsky DW, Caspi A, Corcoran DL, et al. DunedinPACE, a DNA methylation biomarker of the pace of aging. eLife. 2022;11:e73420.