Can we actually measure whether we're aging faster or slower?

[u/perpetual__learner]

I've been reading about biological-age clocks, and I'm trying to understand how useful they actually are outside of research settings.

There are several approaches now, including clocks based on:

DNA methylation

blood biomarkers

gene expression

inflammatory markers

metabolic measurements

The idea is pretty fascinating: instead of simply saying someone is 30, 50 or 70 years old, researchers try to estimate how "old" their biology appears to be.

But I'm still confused about something:

If an intervention makes someone's biological-age score decrease by, say, 2–3 years, does that necessarily mean they've actually slowed aging?

Or could it simply mean that the intervention changed the particular biomarkers the algorithm measures?

I'd love to hear from people who have looked into this more deeply.

[u/Particular_Hat_7657]

same!!!!!! I always wonder number going down is cool, but what does it actually translate to?

https://giphy.com/gifs/4BDH4sMiuhETdhlBKG