How old am I really?

All people age, although they do not grow old equally as fast. Thus, there may be major differences between people of the same age, regarding their appearance, their physical and mental constitution, and also mortality risk. The concept of biological age tries to represent these differences, to make them measurable and objectifiable by means of different markers. These include, for instance, the heart rate variability, the vital capacity of the lungs, the strength of the handgrip and other electrophysiological, along with histological and laboratory methods.

The age-related alteration of the body composition represents a further starting point for the measurement of the biological age. Although the body weight and body mass index (BMI) can remain stable, the relative proportions of the body tissues change. So in early stages of aging, muscle mass and bone density decrease, followed by a decline in body water. At the same time, the fat percentage increases. The exact determination of the individual body compartments is only possible with expensive and pricey methods, and therefore not practicable in clinical and ambulatory everyday life. An alternative is the bioimpedance analysis, by means of seca mBCA. It was validated against respective reference methods of gold standard and allows a fast and non-invasive analysis of the body composition. The seca mBCA accurately determines the proportions of fat and muscle mass, as well as the total body water. In addition, it allows further differentiation of the subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue, and also the intra- and extracellular fluid.

Another parameter of the seca mBCA is the phase angle. This is a measure of the integrity and nutritional status of the body cells. High values indicate healthy cells in a good nutritional condition, whereas a decrease in the phase angle is registered in pathological events and in the course of the aging process. The measured values of the seca mBCA can be classified according to age-specific reference values, thus providing conclusions regarding the physical constitution and the biological age. Furthermore, even incipient changes such as sarcopenia can be detected and treated early. Hence, regular measurements using seca mBCA contribute to maintaining the health as well as to protecting and improving the quality of life in old age.

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