Secrets to staying young: How to calculate your body age and turn back the clock

Patrick Luckie appears to be the picture of good health, not least because there isn’t an ounce of surplus fat on his slight frame.

Yet the 51-year-old NHS worker from Brentwood in Essex is proof that appearances can be deceptive and slim doesn’t automatically equal healthy because internally he has the body of a 73-year-old.

According to scientists we each have two ages: our actual age and our body age, the latter determined by our diet, activity, stress levels, sleep quality and lifestyle.

The fact that Patrick’s body is 22 years older than his actual age is a legacy of decades of consuming over 4,100 calories of junk food a day – nearly twice as many as doctors recommend.

“I’ve been a junk food fiend for years because I’ve never put on weight so I’ve always thought, well I can get away with eating what I like,” Patrick admits.

Alarmingly statistics reveal that, like him, two-thirds of us will have a body age higher than our birth age, putting us at significantly increased risk of everything from poor brain function to heart disease, cancer, Type 2 diabetes and early death.

Patrick is one of a group of volunteers to take part in a groundbreaking experiment at Newcastle University’s Institute of Ageing, which will be screened as a threepart series on BBC One from next week presented by Dr Chris van Tulleken and Angela Rippon alongside some of the country’s leading health experts.

The aim of the experiment is to prove that the volunteers can turn back the clock in just 12 weeks with an overhaul of their lifestyle.

“It takes just three months to see significant changes in how we are ageing but the real benefits come from a long-term change in behaviour,” explains Professor Mike Trenell from the Institute of Ageing.

“Over time we’d expect people to reduce their body age further, even down to their actual age. “The big difference now is that scientists are understanding why accelerated ageing is driven by things that we already know are bad for us such as being overweight, inactive, stressed or sleep deprived but I want to put them in a different context.

“We’re living longer but the quality of life in older age is diminished and it’s time to address that.

“Managing weight and being physically active is as important in your 50s and over as it is in your 20s, while gaining weight is only ‘part of getting older’ if you let it be.” 

To establish their body age participants in the experiment were put through 23 tests covering everything from weight, body composition and gait to cognition, diet, physical activity, sleep and stress.

Patrick’s love of junk food meant his arteries had thickened, his cholesterol reading of 6.3 was above the threshold of 5.0 and like 30 per cent of men his blood pressure was too high.

Together, these factors put him at increased risk of heart disease and stroke. But is it possible to reverse years of damage in just three months? Prescribed with daily exercise and a diet packed with Mediterranean-style foods including fruit, veg, lean protein, plus good fats found in the likes of olive oil, walnuts and avocados, Patrick’s results were astonishing.

Having reduced his daily calorie intake to 2,908 he knocked nine years off his body age, and his cholesterol fell to 5.1.

At the start, Patrick was consuming nearly 50 per cent more calories than he needed. “I’ve become very proactive,” he says.

“There are certain things that are inevitable in ageing but I can affect how soon I encounter some of them and others I can put off indefinitely.”

For fellow volunteer, 47-year-old Jenifer Tutty from London, insomnia was behind her body age of 71.

Since having major surgery in 2015 she has been unable to sleep for more than fi ve broken hours a night.

Exhausted by day, her physical activity amounted to just 49 minutes per week while her body fat was dangerously high at 42.7 per cent – 31 per cent is the recommended threshold for women.

Prof Trenell says sleep deprivation is why millions of us have accelerated ageing. “I want to put all the traditional advice in a more interesting order starting with sleep, which is the crucial link between all other elements of a healthy lifestyle,” he explains.

“Sleep too little or too much and you have an elevated risk of cancer, diabetes and morbidity. “Without enough you’ll have less energy to be physically active, your blood pressure will rise and your body’s appetite regulation is shot.

“Research has shown that if we restricted a young, fit student to four hours’ sleep they’d be as insulin resistant as someone with Type 2 diabetes. Plus, on that little sleep if they were faced with an all-you-can-eat buffet they’d devour the equivalent of two extra muffins in one sitting versus if they’d had seven or eight hours’ sleep.

“But sleep consistently well and it will have a magical effect because you’re not fighting physiology when trying to make dietary changes or increase activity.”

Jenifer was put on a strict sleep restriction programme to encourage her to feel naturally sleepy, meaning she went to bed at 1am and rose at 6am, focusing on sleep quality.

She was also tasked with 30 minutes of daily brisk exercise but decided to double it. Twelve weeks later her results were compelling.

She had lost weight, reduced her body age by 14 years and her body fat percentage to 34.7 per cent, was sleeping more deeply for longer periods and clocking up 626 minutes of exercise per week.

“My life is completely transformed,” she says. “I’m much happier, much more focused. If I can do this in 12 weeks anybody can.”

Prof Trenell agrees: “If Jenifer continues with this level of determination for another 12 weeks she will easily get back to her birth age, giving her a legacy of good health that will see her age well.

“The good news is that anyone can replicate these benefits for themselves at home too.”

HABITS TO HELP YOU DEFY THE YEARS

PRIORITISE GOOD SLEEP

Your first task is to establish a regular sleep routine as it will provide the foundation for a healthier lifestyle. Get rid of your mobile phone at bedtime, go to bed and get up at the same time and aim for 7-8 hours a night.

BEWARE ACCIDENTAL CALORIES

Those accidental calories you habitually consume from snacks during the day may be ruining your diet. Snack on fruit or a small handful of walnuts or almonds. Keep them in your bag, car or on your desk so you are never tempted to snack unhealthily. 

IMPROVE HYDRATION

Increase your daily intake of water. If your body is properly hydrated you’ll feel more energetic and also less hungry because you’ll fi ll your stomach and dilute the hormones that make you feel hungry. 

STAND UP

Studies have shown that sitting for long periods can lead to poor mental health, double the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease and raise your risk of developing cancer. Cultivate good habits: stand up when talking on the phone, walk while having a meeting, go to the supermarket instead of having the shopping delivered, or just make sure to get on your feet for a few minutes every hour. 

GET A HEALTH MOT

If you’re over 40 you’re entitled to a free NHS health check via your GP. It won’t reveal your body age but it will help you to understand the likes of your blood pressure and cholesterol levels so you can make lifestyle changes accordingly.