Most middle-age women don't like to tell their age, let alone their "body age."

For the purpose of explaining a new concept in health and fitness, I'm about to disclose both.

I'm 43. My body age, calculated this month using multiple measurements and health-history facts, is 28.

Whew! What a relief! When I agreed to have it figured, I worried that my 43-year-old body would somehow defy my workout routine and conscientious eating habits to show a body age in the upper 50s. (Then I probably wouldn't be disclosing all the numbers in this column!)

But even at 28, I've got plenty of room for improvement.

The Polar BodyAge System used at the Center of Integrative Medicine in Richmond recommended I make changes that would get me to my obtainable body age of 18. That's right - 18!

One recommendation was to increase my flexibility because my scores were low in that area. (Note to self: Take some Pilates and yoga classes.)

Another recommendation was to boost my nutrition health risk from good to excellent by changing a few food choices. I think this means completely cutting out fat-laden desserts, red meat and salty snacks (all of which I admitted to eating occasionally), so I'm not so sure I'll be able to follow that advice.

But overall, the recommendations were all good, and the BodyAge calculation is a sound way to get you thinking about what you're doing right and where you could improve.

Many of the people referred for BodyAge calculation are overweight or suffer from a medical condition that could be improved by changes in lifestyle. Since Bon Secours is a partner with the Center of Integrative Medicine, many BodyAge participants are doctor-referred.

Once the BodyAge is calculated, the findings are used as a basis for building a program that can help individuals, said Yedda Stancil, president of the Center of Integrative Medicine. The participants can choose to meet with the center's doctors, psychologist and nutritional counselors for help, or they can take the recommendations and develop a program of their own.

"It gives them a picture," Stancil said. "Point A is where you are starting. Point B is optimal health."

She and other health counselors talk to people about how to get to Point B. "We want to change behaviors," she said. "We create a roadmap."

Since buying the equipment in early 2007, the center has calculated body age for more than 500 people in its office on Grove Avenue and an additional 200 people in workplaces around the area.

The Center of Integrative Medicine combines medical consultation, behavior modification, nutrition counseling, fitness training and relaxation therapy to help people lose weight and overcome health problems.

"We treat the whole patient: mind, body and spirit," said Dr. Lindley T. Smith, one of two doctors at the center.

And if the spirit feels defeated by a high body-age calculation, there's still hope.

It's possible, Stancil said, for an individual to drop in body age by 20 years in as little as three months if the person is following a strict diet and exercise program.

Stancil said the body-age calculation is a great motivator, particularly if people see that their body age is much higher than their actual age.

"They say, 'I know I can get that down.'"