Is Age Just a Number? A Mauritius Pharmacist Weighs In

A high school reunion can be a revealing experience. Everyone in the room graduated the same year, yet some people look a decade younger than others standing right beside them. It is a scene that pharmacist Kaajal Luckraz knows well, not just from her personal life but from the patients she sees every day at her pharmacy counter in Mauritius.

The question she poses is one most of us have asked ourselves at some point: is age really just a number, or is something more complex going on beneath the surface?

The short answer, according to Luckraz, is that age is both a number and far more than that. The number of years a person has lived is fixed and measurable. But how those years register in the body, the skin, the energy levels and the mental sharpness varies enormously from one person to the next.

Scientists call this the gap between chronological age and biological age. Chronological age is simply how many years have passed since you were born. Biological age reflects the actual condition of your cells, tissues and organs. Two people who are both 55 years old can have biological ages that differ by 15 years or more.

Several factors drive this gap. Genetics plays a role, but research increasingly shows that lifestyle choices carry significant weight. Sleep quality, diet, stress levels, physical activity, alcohol consumption and smoking all influence how quickly or slowly the body ages at a cellular level. Chronic inflammation, which can be triggered by poor diet or unmanaged stress, is now understood to be one of the main accelerators of biological ageing.

In Mauritius, where non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular conditions are among the leading causes of illness and death, the question of biological age carries particular relevance. The country has one of the highest rates of diabetes in the region, and many patients are diagnosed at a relatively young chronological age precisely because their biological age has advanced faster than expected.

From her position at the pharmacy, Luckraz observes how early or late people engage with preventive health. Some patients in their forties are already managing several chronic conditions. Others in their sixties are on minimal medication and remain physically active. The difference, she notes, rarely comes down to luck alone.

What this means for readers is straightforward. The number on your birth certificate cannot be changed, but many of the factors that determine how that number shows up in your body can be influenced. Regular health screenings, a balanced diet, consistent physical activity and stress management are not just wellness clichés. They are, according to growing scientific evidence, among the most effective tools for keeping biological age lower than chronological age.

For those living in Mauritius, local pharmacies and community health centres are increasingly accessible starting points for checking blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol, all markers that give a clearer picture of where your biological age actually stands.

The reunion, in other words, is more informative than it might first appear.

Source: Mauritius Times