BodyAge: Yet Another Questionable Measure of Health

One upon a time we relied on things like blood pressure and cholesterol to tell us what kind of shape we were in. Now we’ve got an expanding menu of measurements, and many of them, like BodyAge, were created by people in the fitness industry who need one more thing that their customers can improve. The New York Times gives us the goods on BodyAge, a new measure that is a pleasing blend of body fat, strength, cardiovascular condition and flexibility and was invented by Polar, a maker of heart rate monitors. And next week, the Times tells us, Bally Total Fitness will begin offering another established test called RealAge.  How real is RealAge? The answer, the Times reports, is somewhat real, somewhat useful as a measure of fitness, and extremely useful to health clubs that promise to take a few years off the number. Read more in the New York Times.