Quick Answer Functional age predicts disability risk because the tests behind it – gait speed, chair-rise time, balance and grip strength – measure the exact capacities that daily independence depends on. Research consistently shows that people who perform poorly on these simple tests are far more likely to develop mobility disability, fall, be hospitalised, and […] Read More
Quick Answer Chronological age is the number of years since you were born. Functional age is how old your body performs, based on measured strength, balance, stamina, mobility and cognition. Chronological age advances at exactly one year per year for everybody. Functional age moves at a different speed for every person — faster for some, […] Read More
What Is Functional Age and Why It Matters More Than Your Birth Certificate Picture two neighbors, both 68 years old. One carries her own groceries up two flights of stairs, gardens on weekends, and travels without a second thought. The other holds the railing carefully, gets winded on the same stairs, and has quietly started […] Read More
Functional age and nursing home risk are directly connected — and the difference can be dramatic. Consider Steve and Stanley, identical twins who are both 76 years old. Steve just returned from a trip to Iceland with his grandchildren. Meanwhile, Stanley has lived in a nursing home for the past seven months. Both brothers share […] Read More