It happens that a person does not look at his age. Younger or older. But experts will find out as accurately as possible about how his body works, how able-bodied he is, without even looking at his passport. There are various ways to do this. This is our story today.
Calendar and biological
Usually, by the word "age" we mean the number of years lived. This is passport information (or chronological). But we are all different! Some lead a healthy lifestyle, others - on the contrary. Someone thanks to heredity for a long time saves a supply of energy, and nothing hurts them. Others grow old early. Together, these indicators, brought together, is the biological “experience”. A leaflet in the document will say little about the health and ability to work of this or that citizen.
As a rule, individual characteristics of people differ from average indicators.
Steps of our century
Before talking about such a concept as determining age, you need to know what stages in our development we go through.
The neonatal period is the first 4 weeks. Breasts - from 28 days to 12 months. Early childhood - 1-3 years. Preschoolers - from 3 to 6-7 years old. Then come the younger students - 6-10, teenagers - 11-18, boys and girls - 16-20 years old. Mature age (first period) occurs in women and men from 20 years old, ends at 35. The second segment of maturity is 35-55 and 35-60, respectively. Elderly people from 55 to 75 are considered. Then the senile stage - up to 90 years. Above are centenarians.
My years are my wealth
Biological age is probably more important than chronological. After all, this is an objective indicator of how the “motor” and other parts of our “mechanism” work. And their “serviceability” is affected by both external factors and the presence (or absence) of any pathologies.
Heredity, good or bad, is perhaps the main thing. But biological experience largely depends on living conditions. That is why in the second half of their lives, people of the same year of birth can differ dramatically from each other in strength, tone, even mood. Younger than their passport data, as a rule, look those who have a favorable everyday life. And they have a positive inheritance.
In recent decades, scientists have added a third to these two circumstances. This is self-government. A person’s consciousness to a certain extent affects his body, his condition. And it turns out that these factors also play a role in our well-being and life expectancy. Severe working and living conditions, hard physical work, frequent nerves, stresses and, in general, psychological discomfort do not strengthen, but wear out the body faster.
Biological age is immediately visible. An old person in this respect has obvious violations of his main life functions, there is a bunch of diseases and there is a higher risk of dying soon enough.
All children grow differently
Since the state of health is not the number of years lived, but the age of our body, the biological age is determined by the way individual organs work.
Let's start with the children. Every boy or girl lives the same stages in development. Yes, their pace is different. They depend on heredity - one, two living conditions - two, food quality, ecology, sports - three. And much more.
Therefore, all babies have a different biological preschool age. The determination is carried out using tests and any measurements.
At the same time, some children are ahead of their peers in development, although they are in exactly the same circumstances. Why? A biologically more mature boy or girl is much easier to cope with their stresses - physical and mental. They respond less to stress, germs, colds.
Specialists determine the age of a child simply. They measure height and weight, watch the rate of change, the condition of bones and teeth.
There are growth leaps. This is when a schoolboy suddenly grew sharply over the summer. And at preschool children there is still a half-growth jump. Do you want to know if your heir has passed such an important stage for him? Ask him to reach his left ear with his right hand. Only carry it above your head. This test will give information about how mature the nervous system is. And how the brain is ready for the perception and processing of new information.
What is this for? This criterion says whether your son or daughter is ready to go to grade 1. Or let him spend another year in kindergarten.
Doctors say: they put a graduate of the kindergarten at his desk, when he is physiologically not ready for school. What will happen? Poor health effects before - a negative impact on the mental state. Before you is the future lagging student.
Parents also need to monitor bone age data. Give a more accurate definition of the biological age. Analysis - by x-ray of the hand and wrist.
And the age of the tooth is no less important. Write down when the baby has grown both milk and permanent teeth.
Several ways
And how is the determination of the biological age of an adult? Tests are used, varying in complexity. But in short, the essence is as follows.
The first option is the most difficult. He needs special equipment. The test is carried out only in a well-equipped clinic or even in a diagnostic center.
There are two more methods. Both, of course, are less time-consuming, but also can not do without special equipment.
But the fourth method is quite simple, and therefore it is used most often. It is called "Methods for determining age by Voitenko." In any conditions: at home or in the clinic, working at home or at the cottage - you can find out how much has hit you. No special diagnostic device is needed.
The diagnostician himself
1. A tonometer (on the right hand) measures pressure three times with an interval of 5 minutes. Record the smallest indicator. The pulse reading is the difference between the first and second.
2. Take a deep breath - and do not breathe! Stopwatch measure three times with a break of no more than five minutes, how much you lasted. Consider the highest value.
3. You stand on your left foot with your shoes off. Eyes are closed, arms are lowered along the body. No preliminary training can be done. And so three times. A break is only 5 minutes. Write down the longest standing time. Consider the best result from three attempts.
4. Measure your weight. Record the result as well.
5. Calculate the index of self-esteem of your health. This can be done at one of the medical sites.
There are also various tests. They can be easily found and tried.
Wait a minute!
A new gait age system has been developed in Japan. Investigated 4 thousand people of different ages. Each walked twice a segment of six meters back and forth. All movements were filmed on camera. Based on the results, we created a database. In them are walking models of the young, old, young. Distinctive features are stride length, wave of arms, tension of the back muscles. According to these indicators, the apparatus determines how “young” one or another person moves.
So, 20-30-year-olds do not move their hands very much, unlike those who are 40-50. The older a man or woman, the more they hunch when walking.
This equipment is worth it at the Tokyo Science Museum. Anyone can come. It has become fashionable to determine the age of yourself and your loved ones.
You can also find out the biological age by the teeth, which is of particular interest to forensics. Or by analyzing the voice, the presence of wrinkles. A drop of blood, as they do in Holland.
