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Your Health Dashboard: Body + Performance + Biomarkers + Lifestyle What Should You Track for Healthy Aging? 

Dr Michael Elliott MSc, D.C., CFMP.
7 days ago
2 min read

Healthy aging is about more than simply living longer. It is about maintaining strength, mobility, cognitive function, metabolic health, and independence throughout life. 

But how do you know whether your current health strategy is working? 

A useful health dashboard brings together four important areas: 

1. Body 

Body weight alone does not tell the whole story. Consider tracking: 

  • Waist circumference 

  • Waist-to-height ratio 

  • Body-fat percentage 

  • Visceral or abdominal fat 

  • Lean muscle mass 

  • Blood pressure 

These measurements can reveal changes in body composition and metabolic risk that may not be apparent on the bathroom scales. 

2. Performance 

How your body functions is just as important as how it looks. 

Useful performance measures may include: 

  • Grip strength 

  • Lower-body strength 

  • Sit-to-stand performance 

  • Walking speed 

  • Balance 

  • Mobility 

  • Aerobic fitness 

  • Exercise recovery 

Maintaining strength, balance, and cardiovascular fitness can help protect independence and reduce the risk of frailty as we age. 

3. Biomarkers 

Blood tests provide another layer of information by showing what is happening internally. 

Depending on the individual, useful markers may include: 

  • Fasting glucose 

  • Fasting insulin 

  • HbA1c 

  • Cholesterol and triglycerides 

  • ApoB 

  • Inflammatory markers 

  • Liver and kidney function 

  • Thyroid markers 

  • Vitamin D 

  • Iron, vitamin B12 and other nutritional markers 

  • Relevant hormone measurements 

One result provides a snapshot. Repeated measurements reveal direction and help identify whether a marker is improving, stable, or deteriorating. 

4. Lifestyle 

Your daily behaviours strongly influence your long-term health trajectory. 

Consider tracking: 

  • Sleep duration and quality 

  • Daily movement and steps 

  • Resistance training 

  • Aerobic exercise 

  • Protein and fibre intake 

  • Stress and recovery 

  • Alcohol intake 

  • Smoking 

  • Social connection 

  • Time spent sitting 

The greatest value comes from viewing these areas together. 

A change in a biomarker may make more sense when considered alongside sleep, exercise, nutrition, body composition, and symptoms. A health dashboard allows you to connect those pieces and recognise patterns that would otherwise remain hidden. 

You do not need to track everything. 

Choose the measures most relevant to your goals, establish a baseline, and repeat them at meaningful intervals. 

Healthy aging becomes easier to navigate when you can see where you are, how you are changing, and whether your current strategy is moving you in the right direction. 

Dr D. Michael Elliott 

MSc, D.C., CFMP 

  

 
 
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