Apr

27

How Long Will You Live?

Posted by maureen

April 27, 2007 |

I am sure that all of us, at one time or another has wondered, perhaps quietly to ourselves, how long we can expect to live. Interestingly, there are a number of on line longevity calculators around that will estimate your life expectancy and I decided to try a couple of them.

This is the first longevity calculator I completed. It is specifically for 50 and over (although there is one for those younger than fifty) it consists of 23 questions which address one’s personal lifestyle, family health history and preventative care measures. It starts with a “base age” - 86 for men, 89 for women. Sorry guys but women almost always have higher life expectancies than men! That number increases or decreases based on your answers. Each factor is weighted differently, depending on its effect on a person’s health, adding or subtracting from the final score.
The second calculator wasn’t specific to any age group but did have an age adjustment question at the end . It also had 23 questions but they were more general in nature that the previous calculator although they asked questions based on similiar criteria.

Both calculators gave me the same life expectancy (within a couple of years) and the good news was that I have a good few years left! So do they have any value? Well of course, they are only educated guesses which are based on how you respond to the questionnaire. But they certainly give you further proof and a reminder that good living habits and lifestyle choices as well as genetics are very significant. It’s important to remember that genes don’t determine everything. How often you exercise, smoke, drink, whether you eat healthily, see a doctor, and how well you handle stress all impact your life expectancy. Consider this; exercising 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week, adds 6 years. Adversely, obesity can decrease your life expectancy by 7 years. We have greater control over our life than we would often have ourselves believe. Even your attitude can have a huge impact on how long we live. Your way of thinking not only improves your outlook on life, but also how long you actually live. In 2002, researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., found that optimistic people decreased their risk of early death by 50 percent compared with those who leaned more toward pessimism.
We all know that people are living longer today. Today, people can expect to live to 78. In fact, your life expectancy changes as one gets older. And if you live to age 65 you will have an average of almost 18 additional years left to live, making their life expectancy almost 83 years. (This varies depending on the country you live in) Scientific studies show that the body can live in good health up to 120 years without the usual complaints of old age!

So why not take the test and see if they are any lifestyle changes you can make that would positively impact your longevity?


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