Level 1 Bio Age Model

Three domains, seven weighted markers, one composite index. Body composition from a Morpho scan, vital signs from a blood pressure and resting heart rate reading, and a biomechanical domain built on a function test and a postural analysis.

How this tier works. Level 1 measures what can be captured in a single session with no laboratory. A Morpho scan supplies the body composition figures a DEXA scan would otherwise provide. Blood pressure and resting heart rate supply the vital signs. A floor-rise function test and a postural analysis supply the biomechanical numbers. Everything is weighted to 100 points, rolled into a composite, and converted into an Age 1 figure. Without the fitness and blood domains, a Level 1 result is always provisional.

3domains

7weighted markers

100model weight points

±20 yearsdivergence cap

The three domains

Domain	Weight
Body composition	30%
Vital signs	40%
Functional ability	30%

Vital signs and body composition carry the weight because they have the deepest evidence base and the largest datasets behind them. Biomechanical carries the remainder, led by a functional capability test rather than a static posture measurement, for the reason set out under Why these weights.

Level 1 weightings

WEIGHTS APPROVED · 14 OCT 2026. 30% body composition, 40% vital signs, 30% functional ability. Age-reference scoring remains under review.

Domain	Marker	Weight
Body composition	Body fat %	15%
Body composition	Muscle mass estimate	10%
Body composition	Visceral fat index	5%
Vital signs	Systolic BP	20%
Vital signs	Diastolic BP	10%
Vital signs	Resting heart rate	10%
Functional ability	Sitting-rising test /10	30%
Total		100%

Posture measurements remain in the report but are not scored.

The Old Man Test is the sitting-rising test. The client sits down on the floor and stands back up, and the whole movement is scored out of 10. It is not the chair sit-to-stand test: this version is done from the floor, which is why it is a stronger signal. Full scoring is set out below.

Static posture findings are reported separately and carry zero age-model weight.

The Old Man Test, explained

The Old Man Test is the sitting-rising test. It takes under a minute, needs no equipment and no laboratory, and it is a functional measure associated with mortality in observational research. The client sits on the floor and stands back up, and the movement is scored out of 10.

5POINTS FOR SITTING DOWN
from standing

5POINTS FOR STANDING UP
from the floor

−1PER SUPPORT USED
hand, forearm, knee or side of the leg

−0.5PER LOSS OF BALANCE
any wobble or instability

How it is scored, step by step

Start each half of the movement at 5 points. Sitting down: lower yourself to the floor without touching anything, and deduct 1 point for every support you use, whether a hand, a forearm, a knee, or the side of a leg. Standing up: return to standing the same way, and deduct 1 point again for each support. Throughout both halves, deduct 0.5 for any moment where balance is lost or the movement becomes unstable. The movement should be continuous, with no pause to gather yourself.

So a client who sits and rises cleanly scores 10. A client who uses one hand on the way down and loses balance once on the way up scores 8.5. A client who needs a hand and a knee in both directions scores 6 before any balance deductions are taken. Hands must not touch the floor or the knee, and the movement must not be split into separate sittings and risings.

Safety. The test is performed on a padded surface with something solid within reach, and anyone with a recent injury, joint replacement or balance disorder should be assessed in clinic rather than at home.

Reference scores by age and sex have been derived from 6,141 adults (Brito et al., 2019). The band cut-offs used for scoring this marker in the model are to be confirmed, and the score above is capped to the model's four bands.

Why these weights

Approved by Lee on 14 Oct 2026: functional ability is emphasised over static posture; scale-derived estimates receive limited weighting. These are design weights informed by evidence, not independently validated coefficients.

Age- and sex-specific reference scoring remains under review. The dashboard does not yet calculate a Level 1 age. Legacy scoring and conversion examples below are working documentation, not an approved calculator.

Marker scoring

Each marker receives one of four point values according to its own band, set from the reference ranges used in clinic.

100BEST BAND

75GOOD BAND

40FAIR BAND

10POOR BAND

Per-marker band cut-offs for Level 1 are to be confirmed.

Composite Level 1

The composite is the weighted average of the marker scores, out of 100. Fifty is the neutral point: a composite of 50 means Age 1 equals chronological age.

58COMPOSITE LEVEL 1
(example)

−3.2 yrsAGE 1 DIVERGENCE
(example)

PROVISIONALRESULT STATUS
(always at Level 1)

Age 1 = actual age − [ (composite − 50) ÷ 50 × 20 ]

Worked example. A composite of 75 gives 75 − 50 = 25, then 25 ÷ 50 = 0.5, then 0.5 × 20 = 10, so the age adjustment is 10 years younger. The same maths runs in reverse below 50. The adjustment is capped at plus or minus 20 years.

The composite shown above is an illustrative figure, not a client result.

Age 1 divergence

Age 1 is plotted against chronological age at every assessment. Zero means Age 1 equals chronological age; positive means biologically older; negative means biologically younger.

Illustrative example. The dotted horizontal line carries the current difference forward and is not a forecast. It does not predict future health, lifespan or life expectancy.

Deep dive

Brito LB et al. Ability to sit and rise from the floor as a predictor of all-cause mortality. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, 2014. Hazard ratio 5.44, lowest versus highest score group.
Lim SS et al. A comparative risk assessment of burden of disease and injury attributable to 67 risk factors. The Lancet, 2012.
Kado DM et al. Hyperkyphotic Posture Predicts Mortality in Older Community-Dwelling Men and Women. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2004.
Kado DM et al. Hyperkyphosis Predicts Mortality Independent of Vertebral Osteoporosis in Older Women. Annals of Internal Medicine, 2009.
Cooper R et al. Objectively measured physical capability levels and mortality: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ, 2010.

Level 1 is a programme tracking model. It is not an epigenetic clock, a validated clinical aging clock, a medical diagnosis, a prognosis, a lifespan predictor or a life expectancy model.

CLIENT REPORTING

Section 05 for a Level 1 client

An approved Level 1 client sees the Level 1 analytics in section 05 of their report, in place of the Elite twelve-marker breakdown.

OPEN THE SECTION 05 MOCKUP