Why people are spending $1,300 on longevity treatments

For some of these commercialised interventions – like red light therapy, contrast therapy, infrared saunas and cold plunges – the evidence is thin. To assume an intervention in animals will also apply to human longevity is exactly that – an assumption, and “not based upon evidence that human life is prolonged,” Kado emphasized.

Andrea LaCroix, professor at UC San Diego’s Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, is equally direct. “There’s an absence of clinical trial data showing that any interventions extend healthy longevity in humans,” she said. “These treatments should be seen as self-experimentation at your own risk.”

Following the money

The price of entry varies widely, from $200 (£146) for a wellness screening to $1,300 (£951) for a 45-minute “cellular repair” session, and comprehensive annual programmes can cost several thousand dollars. No matter the structure, these offerings share a central pitch, either explicitly or implicitly, that advanced diagnostics and targeted interventions can help people live not just longer, but better.

The question is whether science supports the price tags, and Michael Doney, executive medical director of Biograph, draws a clear distinction between what he calls true diagnostic clinics and the broader wellness category. “There’s a meaningful difference between wellness clubs, med-tech spas and true diagnostic clinics,” he says, adding that at Biograph, longevity refers to extending healthspan and lifespan by “identifying and addressing risk early, often years before symptoms appear.”

One in six of Biograph’s members uncover urgent or potentially life-threatening findings, Doney says, adding, “the real differentiator is how all of this data is interpreted together”. He pointed out that in the traditional healthcare system, testing is often scattershot and obtained over many days, weeks or months.