Your ‘health age’ is fake

September 16, 2026 Victoria Song

My villain origin story is my Whoop age. How do you age at 0.9 times your age and end up four to five years older than you are? | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest gizmos and potions that swear they're going to change your life. Opt in for Optimizer here.

During last week's Apple Watch announcement, I let out a distinct "Noooo!" in the Steve Jobs Theater. Along with a new readiness metric and a redesigned Health app, Apple had just announced that later this year, it'd be introducing a new longevity feature called Health Age.

This is a familiar concept in the wearable and health tech world. The idea is that if you put effort into your health and fitness, your physiological age c …

Read the full story at The Verge.

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Your ‘health age’ is fake
Your ‘health age’ is fake

This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and disc...