How old are you really? Only your bones can say for sure

If you can believe the ad campaigns, using the right moisturizer is a foolproof way to hide your real age. But researchers at Tel Aviv University have found a way to go deeper than appearances and actually pinpoint how old you are biologically – and how fast you’re aging.

Called the osseographic score, the rating is a measure of biological factors that are expressed and can be gauged in the bones. In the study, researchers measured OSS using simple X-ray images of subjects’ wrists. The findings have been published both in the journal Biogerontology and in the American Journal of Human Biology.

“While different biomarkers such as grey hair, wrinkles or elasticity of the skin can help us estimate a person’s biological age, these features are hard to quantify,” said study author Dr. Leonid Kalichman in a press release. But with the new OSS biomarker, and treatment at a younger age, “at age 90 people can function as though they are 30.”

While it appears this biomarker is largely influenced by genetics, according to Kalichman, this knowledge could allow doctors to tailor treatments, such as vitamins and exercise regimes, to patients to help slow down the process.