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If you ask Sy Perlis, who broke a weightlifting record at the age of 91, or Tao Porchon-Lynch, who won ballroom dance competitions and taught multiple yoga classes a week at age 94, your chronological age really is just a number.

How your body and mind work at the age of 60, 70, 80, and beyond is the result of a small part genetics and a large part lifestyle habits, particularly those that have persisted over the years.

It can therefore be difficult to estimate your longevity based on your chronological age alone, as someone in their 80s could easily be healthier than someone in their 70s, depending on their diet, exercise habits, and outlook on life.

A
better indicator of longevity than your chronological age, according to researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, may be your
fitness age.

Your Fitness Age May Predict Your Lifespan

Fitness age is based on the concept of VO2max, which is the maximum amount of oxygen you can take in while exercising. Your VO2max can be used as a measure of cardiovascular endurance; if yours is below average compared to other people your age, it means your fitness age is actually
greater than your chronological age.

On the other hand, a better-than-average VO2 max could mean your fitness age is younger than your age in years. Even better, it’s possible to improve your VO2 max, which means your fitness age can actually get younger as you get older

The primary problem with using VO2 max to gauge your longevity is that very few people know what theirs is, and finding out typically requires high-tech testing on a treadmill.