Biological Age Tests Boom at $120 to $600 as Experts Warn Scores Lack Precision
Updated
Updated · The Globe and Mail · Aug 11
Biological Age Tests Boom at $120 to $600 as Experts Warn Scores Lack Precision
3 articles · Updated · The Globe and Mail · Aug 11
Summary
Biological age tests have surged from niche research tools into consumer products spanning blood panels, skin scans and fitness devices, even as experts say the numbers are not yet reliable individual health predictors.
2013 DNA-methylation “epigenetic clocks” helped launch the field, while newer tests also use blood biomarkers, facial imaging, heart-rate variability and sleep data to estimate how fast the body is aging.
Scores can swing with genetics, environment and short-term factors such as stress, poor sleep, illness or a recent meal; one doctor said a bad night’s sleep made her fitness ring show an age five years older.
Prices typically run from $120 to $600 or more, but experts caution the results often offer only a ballpark health signal and may be paired with recommendations shaped by companies selling follow-up products or services.