Wearable 'Health Age' Metrics Face Skepticism Over Validity

Apple recently announced the upcoming release of a longevity feature called "Health Age," as first reported by The Verge. This addition joins a growing list of physiological age metrics from other wearable and health tech companies, including Garmin's "fitness age score," Whoop's "Whoop age," and Oura's "cardiovascular age."

Other hardware manufacturers have integrated similar tracking. Withings has introduced "longevity intelligence" features that track "heart age" and "vascular age," while Eight Sleep smart mattress toppers now estimate a user's "biological age."

However, these metrics often produce contradictory results. The Verge notes that a single user's data showed their fitness age as 36.5 via Garmin, while Whoop estimated them at 42, and a longevity mirror estimated their physiological age at 35. These discrepancies are often tied to how specific companies weight their algorithms; for instance, Whoop's metric heavily weights strength training.

While these scores can theoretically identify areas for health improvement, there is concern regarding how they are marketed. Apple's vice president of health, Sumbul Desai, suggested in an Instagram Reel that Health Age could be a metric users "brag about to your friends." This trend is mirrored by tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson, who has used social media to discuss his efforts to maintain a youthful appearance.