Discover your magic number and how it affects your body and mind…
How old do you feel today? Like a perky 25-year-old, or a weary 100? As the saying goes, ‘age is just a number’, and there’s plenty of truth in this when it comes to your health. The tally of years that you’ve been alive isn’t always an indicator of your fitness – but what can be a good gauge is your metabolic age.
Are you ready to discover why this figure matters? Here’s everything you need to know, along with the steps you can take to make yourself ‘metabolically’ younger.
What is your metabolic age?
In a nutshell, your metabolic age is based on what’s called your basal metabolic rate (often known as BMR), compared to the average BMR of someone the same age.
‘Your BMR tells you how many calories your body burns while resting, and it’s a good gauge of your efficiency in burning the calories you consume,’ explains health coach Simon Bradeley (simonbradeley.co.uk).
Why it matters
It’s an important indicator of how hardworking your metabolism is. It also steps away from using your ‘real age’, or the number on traditional weighing scales, to define your health and fitness. ‘Your metabolic age shifts the focus away from weight and focuses more on your body’s structure, or composition, of muscle and fat,’ says Simon.
BMR reduces as we get older. ‘This often contributes to the fact that we may gain weight as we age – despite the fact we may be following the same diet we’ve always done,’ says Dr Rekha Tailor, cosmetic doctor at Health and Aesthetics (healthand aesthetics.co.uk). ‘Knowing your BMR can help you feel less frustrated, especially if you’re on a weight loss journey or want to give your general health an overhaul, and you feel like you’re not making progress.
Continuing, she adds, ‘Whatever your BMR measurement, there’s always room for improvement, and there are a number of concrete steps you can take to put it on a downward curve.’
Do the sums
It’s possible to use a person’s height, weight and age to estimate BMR – women can use this formula: (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) − (5 x age in years) − 161 = BMR This number is then compared to the average BMR of other women who are the same chronological age, to get your metabolic age.
For a more accurate calculation, it’s possible to use body composition technology. ‘A body composition analyser will give accurate readings on everything from your muscle mass to how much visceral fat you have,’ explains Simon. If you don’t want to buy a body composition monitor, some private health services offer body composi
