Measuring Human Age by Estimating Lifetime Caloric Consumption

BACKGROUND: This study was prompted by a desire to measure human age by a means other than chronological or biological age. The purpose of the study was to use the total lifetime caloric intake in men as an index of aging. METHOD: The study was carried out by developing an algorithm to approximate the lifetime caloric intake. The total caloric intake is expressed such that one calorie-age year is defined as the total calories expended by an individual during his/her 20th year. RESULTS: The results indicated that (1) the caloric intake of men progressively decreases with advancing age, that (2) the caloric-age is usually less than chronological age, and that (3) the caloric-age algorithm is a simple although crude method to assess lifetime caloric intake. CONCLUSION: The most important conclusion is that a person can get a better appreciation of the importance of avoiding excess caloric intake if human age is measured in terms of lifetime caloric intake.