What is Bio Age? How AHEALTH's habit score works

How Bio Age works in AHEALTH

AHEALTH, formerly Moneywalk, is a free iPhone and Android app that gives you points for everyday healthy habits. Bio Age is a way to see those habits add up. It turns your effort into an age, so your progress is easy to understand at a glance.

• Where it starts. Your actual age, based on your date of birth.
• What moves it. The healthy habits you complete in the app, such as walking and sleep. As they add up over time, your Bio Age gets younger.
• What it is. An estimate based on your activity in the app. Think of it as a running total of your healthy habits, not a grade for a single day.
• What it isn't. A medical test, a diagnosis or a measurement of your body. It is not medical advice.

What biological age means in research

Your chronological age is the number of years since you were born. Biological age is an idea scientists use to describe how far aging has progressed in the body, and two people born in the same year can differ a lot. The National Institute on Aging describes biological age as reflecting the molecular damage that builds up over the years and eventually leads to disease and disability.

To estimate it, researchers build "aging clocks." One approach measures a set of biomarkers and compares them with what's typical for people of a given age. Another looks at chemical changes to DNA, called DNA methylation, often from a blood sample. Researchers also use other blood markers, telomere length and tests of physical or mental function.

According to the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, biological age can't currently be measured accurately with a single test, and these methods are not yet established as diagnostic tools for individuals. Results can depend on the method, and commercial tests shouldn't be the only basis for health decisions.

Can a phone measure your biological age?

Not in the way researchers mean it. The aging clocks above rely on samples such as blood and on tests of how your body works. A phone can count your steps and keep track of what you log, but it can't draw blood or read your DNA.

So an age score built from phone activity is best read as an estimate of your habits, not a reading of how your body is aging. That's how AHEALTH describes Bio Age. It doesn't try to measure your body. It turns the healthy habits you complete into an age, so you can see your effort add up.

That can still be useful. A number that moves when you walk and sleep well gives you a reason to keep going, and those habits are the same kind researchers point to for healthy aging.

The habits that matter most for healthy aging

You can't change your date of birth, but everyday habits make a real difference in how you age. "Physical activity is the closest thing to a fountain of youth that we know of," aging researcher Dr. Daniel Belsky told the National Institute on Aging.

• Move more. In a study of adults 40 and older, taking 8,000 or more steps a day was linked to a 51% lower risk of death from any cause compared with taking 4,000 steps.
• Sleep enough. The National Institute on Aging notes that older adults need the same 7 to 9 hours of sleep as other adults, but often don't get enough.
• Don't smoke and keep a healthy weight. Both are on the short list of practical steps that NIA's scientific director, Dr. Luigi Ferrucci, recommends.
• Keep up with your care. His list also includes getting recommended vaccines and cancer screenings, and treating high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

None of these need a special device. Talk with your doctor about which checkups and screenings are right for you.

How to use Bio Age in a healthy way

• Compare with yourself. Bio Age starts from your own age and reflects your own habits, so it isn't a contest with anyone else.
• Focus on the habits, not just the number. The number reflects what you do. Walking, sleep and the other habits you complete are what count.
• Think long term. Bio Age reflects habits that add up over time, so a slow week isn't a reason to give up.
• Don't use it for health decisions. It isn't a diagnosis or medical advice. For real health measures such as blood pressure or cholesterol, see your doctor.
• Enjoy the rewards too. In AHEALTH, the same habits also earn points that you can redeem for gift cards in the U.S.

How to start building healthy habits with AHEALTH

1. Install AHEALTH from the App Store or Google Play. It's free to download.
2. Allow step counting. AHEALTH uses your phone's own step count, so you don't need a smartwatch or fitness tracker.
3. Pick two or three habits to start. Walking, logging your sleep and logging each glass of water are easy first steps.
4. Add medication reminders if you take medication. You earn points when you log a dose.
5. Check your progress now and then. Your points and your Bio Age both reflect the habits you complete.

For the full list of habits that earn points and how gift cards work, see how AHEALTH rewards work, or read about one app that rewards five micro-habits. Talk with your doctor before you start a new exercise routine, especially if you have a health condition.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• One app for five micro-habitsWhich micro-habits AHEALTH rewards and which it doesn't, how the rewards work, and how to stack small habits into one simple day.
• Easy rewards app for seniorsWhat makes a health app easy for older adults, what the CDC recommends for people 65 and older and how to set gentle goals that earn small rewards.
• One app that rewards sleep and stepsWhy sleep and steps belong in the same app, how AHEALTH rewards both along with water and meals, and a simple daily routine that ties them together.

All AHEALTH guides