Chronological age is the number of years a person has been alive. Metabolic age is a person’s BMR compared to others in the same age group.
Metabolic age is the most popular metric on the boditrax platform. It is a comparison with other users’ metabolism, then expressed as the ‘age’ of their own metabolism.
For example, A very fit 35-year-old with prominent levels of muscle and low levels of fat, may achieve a metabolic age score of 20.
However, an unfit 35-year-old with prominent levels of body fat and low levels of muscle, may achieve a metabolic age score of 50.
The metabolic age calculator compares Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) to a BMR average for a chronological age group. If a metabolic age is lower than a chronological age, this suggests a healthy metabolic rate and body composition.
If a metabolic age is higher than a chronological age, this suggests a lower-than-average metabolic rate, thus a less efficient body composition. This is a firm warning and indicates that it is time to make changes.
Having a higher-than-average metabolic rate demonstrates a favourable ratio of lean muscle mass to body fat mass. As muscle burns more calories than fat, even at rest, it makes the body more efficient at burning calories. Essentially, metabolic age indicates how effective (or youthful) a persons metabolism is.
Metabolic age is now widely adopted of a fitness term - but is not a medical term. It is a way to compare the basal metabolic rate (BMR) to people of a similar age. It is a great insight into the metabolism, and it is simply not possible to achieve a lower metabolic age without having a good base metabolism and body composition.
However, if a user is 30 years old chronologically and 15 years old metabolically, they are still 30 years old - but they should take a bow for their efforts and aim to stay on the same fitness path.
To improve metabolic age, users will need to either reduce body fat mass and/or increase muscle mass. However, it is unlikely that they will be able to achieve both goals at the same time. Therefore, it is advised that users do one first, then the other. We would recommend always beginning with reducing fat mass.
For example, they should start by setting a goal to lose enough body fat to get into the middle of the ‘healthy’ green zone and then once this has been achieved, set a goal to get muscle mass into the middle of the healthy green zone too, whilst still maintaining a healthy level of body fat.
Some ways in which we can achieve this are by increasing our protein intake, as this increases satiety and burns more calories digesting protein sources as opposed to other macronutrients. Additionally, it aids in the repairing of muscles, which is especially important if you are frequently taking part in resistance training. Also, ensuring we are getting adequate sleep, as this is when our body is doing most of its repair work, and a lack of sleep contributes to muscle loss, which can ultimately increase our metabolic age. Finally, ensure consumption of adequate nutritional resources. Food is fuel. However, avoid overconsuming calories that are exceeding energy expenditure, as this is what leads to fat gain over the long term.
If you have any questions, please seek advice from a medical or fitness professional where you use boditrax, or get in touch with boditrax anytime via support@boditrax.com
MEHRDAD, R., POURAGHA, H., VESAL, M., POURYAGHOUB, G., NADERZADEH, M., & ALEMOHAMMAD, Z. B. (2021). Metabolic Age: A New Predictor for Metabolic Syndrome. Turkish Journal of Endocrinology & Metabolism, 25(1).
