real age test

[emily_in_nc]

I hope everyone uses AdAware free from Lavasoft to kill all the spyware this sort of site makes you vulnerable to.

Thanks for the reminder, fbg! I'll do that and Spybot Search and Destroy as well, since it's been awhile since I've run either.

I took the test but was disappointed in some of the conclusions. My age is 45.5, it came up with 40.5 for my real age. However, one of the many things that "aged" me was selecting "high HDL" instead of my exact HDL number. The reason I did this is because I haven't gotten my cholesterol checked for a few years, so I felt it would be a bit presumptious to put in the exact figure from my last test, which I actually remember (103 - very high). I would have put that in if I had known it would be significant.

I also got dinged for "only" weight lifting twice a week. Honestly, how many of us even do that? I go to the gym at work and am normally the only woman lifting at all (most are doing the treadmill). I'd lift more, except that I am riding, running, and hiking so don't want or need to do a lot of leg weight work, so I think twice a week is fine for upper body since I am not a body builder. Sheesh!

Other things I got dinged on were not eating enough servings of grains, fruits, veggies, etc. I think I eat adequate amounts of all of those things (~3 servings grains, 1 fruit, 3-5 veggies), but I'm very petite and just don't eat nearly as much overall as they must want me to be eating, since I do eat balanced. They also didn't ask some nutrition questions I think are really important: I buy nearly all my groceries at the local farmer's market (organic) and whole-foods co-op (at least 75% organic), buy no processed foods, eat out only very rarely, etc. etc., but I didn't get any credit for those things, just got dinged because I eat fewer servings of everything than the average Josephine! I weigh less than 105; I just don't need to eat all that much when I am not riding mega miles.

One other thing I got dinged on was taking prescription medication. I take one Rx: Advair for asthma, in the lowest dosage possible. Why is that worse than untreated asthma?! I don't get that at all. I follow the Rx instructions, and my asthma is completely controlled.

And yeah, I am not perfect on the flossing thing either. That one I fully admit to. <hanging head in shame>

Overall, I take issue with some of the questions they did ask, some they didn't ask, and their overall conclusions. I get teased all the time at work for being a health nut, a fitness fanatic, etc. and compared to my 40-50 year old peers at work, I feel like a spring chicken in appearance, attitude, energy level, and yet I only tested out 5 years younger than my actual age.

Emily, who really wanted to be in her 30s again....

[tygab]

I am 34 and it pegged me at 32. There were some good suggestions (ahem, more flossing, more fish etc), but I think I would have fared better if I hadn't seen the following (duh, yes I knew this) paraphrased in the opening of my little report:

"You have had a number of major life stresses this past year."

So hopefully next year I will be like 23! ;^)

-T

[tygab]

oops and not sure if you all saw this but it may explain the blood pressure ding...

>>You estimated that your blood pressure is lower than average, and that would make your RealAge younger. It is very important to check your blood pressure regularly to be sure that it is as low as you estimated.<<

I agree, it's not a perfect test, but it is interesting and makes you think about what you are and aren't doing best for your health. Hopefully the test will evolve over time, some of this feedback might be very good to give the site!

I think not nearly enough women strength train (it complained about that for me too, and I typically do 1-2 times per week in addition to my other exercise), but heck, lots of women don't even exercise or walk.

[Melstar]

Ah this test sux.. puts me older than i am.

[DirtDiva]

I'm sure I'd have fared a lot worse if they'd asked all the family history questions they didn't ask...

[CR400]

28.5 years old for real here but my test came back 20.7 So I lost almost 8 years. I could have scored better had a lower BMI. I hate BMI because it is really a meaningless number that only works in thorey for people who are couch potatoes or lift weights seldom.

[Raindrop]

I came in at 45.5 and just turned 54 on Sunday. It also said that I exercised too much. Well yeah, I own my own business which is In-home Personal Training, plus I teach four indoor cycling classes weekly and I weight train for my own health four to five times weekly, in addition to outdoor riding as often as possible between clients and classes. This shouldn't ding you as a health deterient (sp?).

Consistent exercise is the key to health. There are a lot of weekend warriors out there that believe the weekend of exercise will excise the week of sedetary, overeating and overdrinking and that just isn't going to cut it!!

Likewise, diet is a little generalized here in that it doesn't take into account lean protein intake, healthful whole grains and that fruits are helpful when eaten whole, not dried or as juices.

This is just like any other test that is geared toward the general public. It has to generalise to offer a standardized result. Likewise the BMI, which I think is one of the worst indicators of obesity, besides scale weight, that is used on a consistent basis.

Frankly, how hard is it to train the staff in a medical office to use calipers to measure bodyfat? Or to take the waist/hip measurements to determine the probability of viseral fat?

OK...getting of my soapbox now and getting ready for bed.

[GLC1968]

Bwaahahaha! I'm older because I don't drive a big car?! Give me a break. So, to make myself younger, I should buy a gas-guzzling SUV that polutes the air and ages the planet? Wrong.

All in all though...interesting test. Didn't tell me anything I didn't already know (except that my car makes me older! ), but it's cool to see it all out in front of me. Oh, my real age is 33.2 when my actual age is 38.7. Not bad!

[pooks]

I wonder why they want to know how much you drive and what size car? If they're using that to calculate the odds of you getting killed in an accident -- well, I assumed this was a health quiz. If you start figuring in all the OTHER stuff that can happen to you, its reliability seems to go right out the window, if it hasn't already.

That said, it was interesting and I'm waiting for mine now. And since I was already three years younger before I answered the final questions, I'm now happy to respond to "how old are you?" with my Real Age. Heh.