The 10 key
markers of ageing
Your body keeps a record of how it is ageing.
Most of it never shows up in a standard health check.
At the Sussex Longevity Clinic, we measure 10 markers across five areas: your blood chemistry, your metabolism, your heart and lungs, your hormones, and what your body can physically do. Together they show how you are holding up, and which part is likely to give you trouble first.
Almost everything we look for builds slowly. Heart risk, insulin resistance, muscle loss and bone loss all start long before you feel them. Caught early, most of them respond well to changes you make now.
David and Duncan go through every result with you. You leave with a plan you can start on, and two people who know what your numbers mean.
01
Advanced Lipid Panel
The fats moving around your blood: cholesterol, triglycerides, ApoB and Lp(a).
Picture your arteries as pipes. This tells us whether the water is running clean, or whether something is slowly narrowing them. We test markers the NHS does not routinely offer, which gives a much clearer view of your risk of heart disease and stroke.
02
HbA1c shows your average blood sugar over the past three months.
A fasting insulin test shows how well your body handles sugar right now. Insulin often changes years before blood sugar does, so early diabetes risk shows up here first.
Blood Glucose and Insulin Resistance
VO2 Max
03
How much oxygen your body can use when you are working hard. Think of it as your engine size. A bigger, cleaner engine runs longer and harder. It is one of the strongest single markers in the research on long-term health. A watch cannot measure it properly, so we do the full test using gold-standard equipment.
04
Full Blood screening Panel
An MOT for your internal chemistry: organ function, inflammation, vitamin and mineral levels. Like a full service on a car, it shows what is running well and what needs attention before it becomes a problem.
05
Resting Metabolic Rate
How many calories you burn doing nothing at all. Like a boiler ticking over in the background, it tells us whether your system is running efficiently or wasting fuel. It also explains why losing weight is harder for some people than others.
06
Muscle Strength & Mass
Measured through grip strength and leg strength. Muscle is the scaffolding holding everything else up. The stronger it is, the better everything around it works, and the longer it lasts. Strength is one of the most reliable signs of whether you will stay independent later in life.
Hormonal Profile
07
Hormones are your body's messaging system. When the messages are clear, things work. When they are disrupted, you feel it everywhere: energy, mood, sleep, weight and bone strength. Hormonal health gets overlooked in both men and women.
08
Body Composition
Weight and BMI are blunt tools. Our tests reveal how much of you is fat, muscle, bone and water. Two people can weigh the same and be in very different shape. This is how you tell.
09
Mobility
How well your joints and soft tissues move through their full range. It shows how well your body has been looked after, and how freely you are likely to move in 20 years.
10
Balance
How well you stay steady and in control when you move. Balance starts slipping earlier than most people expect. It is one of the best signs of whether you will still be independent in your 80s.