Performance & Longevity
September 16, 2026
Written by
The Biograph Editorial Team
Your annual physical may include familiar measurements such as body weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, and fasting glucose. These numbers matter, but they do not always reveal the earliest changes in your cardiovascular health, body composition, physical capacity, or bone strength.
That does not make an annual physical unhelpful. It means health is too complex to understand through a handful of isolated measurements.
At Biograph, we look at multiple systems together and track how they change over time. Here are five health metrics that can add valuable context to the traditional numbers you may already know.
1. ApoB: A closer look at cardiovascular risk
You may know your LDL cholesterol, but what about your ApoB?
ApoB, or apolipoprotein B, is the primary structural protein found on all lipoprotein particles associated with atherosclerosis. Measuring ApoB provides a more direct estimate of the number of potentially plaque-forming particles circulating in your blood.
This matters because two people with similar LDL cholesterol levels can have different numbers of these particles and potentially different cardiovascular risk profiles.
ApoB is most useful when interpreted alongside other information, including LDL cholesterol, lipoprotein(a), blood pressure, metabolic markers, family history, and cardiovascular imaging when appropriate.
Learn more about ApoB and comprehensive blood testing.
2. Visceral fat: The fat a scale cannot see
Body weight and BMI cannot tell you where fat is stored.
Visceral fat is located deep within the abdomen, surrounding internal organs. Higher levels are associated with insulin resistance and increased cardiometabolic risk, even when someone’s body weight appears to be within a conventionally “normal” range.
This is one reason two people with the same weight or BMI can have very different metabolic health profiles.
A DEXA scan can provide a more detailed view of body composition, including estimated visceral fat, total fat mass, lean mass, and bone density. Tracking these measurements over time can help determine whether nutrition and exercise interventions are changing the aspects of body composition that matter most.
Learn what a DEXA scan can reveal.
3. VO2 max: How well your body uses oxygen
Resting measurements tell you what your cardiovascular system is doing at rest. VO2 max helps show how your heart, lungs, blood vessels, and muscles work together when demand increases.
VO2 max measures the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during intense exercise. It is one of the strongest indicators of cardiorespiratory fitness and is associated with long-term health and functional capacity.
Wearable devices can provide estimates, but clinical testing offers a more precise measurement and greater context. Your result should be interpreted according to factors such as age, sex, body composition, health history, and training status.
Learn what VO2 max measures and how to improve it.
4. Bone density: Strength you may not feel yourself losing
Bone loss is often silent. It typically does not cause symptoms until it becomes advanced or a fracture occurs.
Bone mineral density measures the amount of mineral contained within your bones and helps clinicians evaluate bone strength. A DEXA scan commonly measures density at areas such as the hip and spine, where fractures can have serious consequences for mobility and independence.
Bone density becomes especially important with age and during hormonal transitions such as perimenopause and menopause. Genetics, nutrition, medication use, resistance training, and weight-bearing activity can also influence bone health.
Establishing a baseline may help identify changes early enough to inform a personalized strategy.
Learn why early bone density detection matters – especially for women.
5. Grip strength: A simple measure of functional capacity
Grip strength may sound like a metric reserved for athletes, but it can provide insight into overall muscular strength and physical resilience.
Maintaining strength supports everyday activities such as carrying groceries, opening containers, climbing stairs, and recovering from physical stress. Lower grip strength is associated with frailty, functional decline, and poorer long-term health outcomes, particularly as people age.
A grip strength result should not be treated as a diagnosis or interpreted alone. Its value increases when considered alongside lean mass, movement quality, balance, cardiovascular fitness, and changes over time.
Simply put, strength is more than a performance goal: it is an important part of preserving mobility and independence.
The numbers matter, but context matters more
A high VO2 max does not rule out elevated ApoB. A healthy weight does not guarantee low visceral fat. Being physically active does not automatically protect against low bone density. One reassuring test result cannot provide a complete picture of your health.
The greatest value comes from combining meaningful measurements, interpreting them in the context of your individual risk factors, and tracking them over time.
A traditional annual physical remains an important part of routine care. A more comprehensive preventive health assessment can build on that foundation, helping you understand not only whether your results fall within a reference range, but what may be changing and where earlier action could matter.
Go beyond the standard health numbers
Biograph combines advanced blood testing, body-composition and bone-density imaging, cardiovascular assessment, VO2 max testing, strength measurements, and physician-led interpretation to create a more complete view of your health.
Discover what your health metrics mean together and how to turn them into a personalized plan.
