How healthy are you? Take this simple test to calculate your risk of early death
An online calculator can help Americans estimate their life expectancy.
Using a person’s age, height, weight, genetic risk factors for disease, and other life factors such as education, marital status, income, and fitness habits, the calculator estimates how long a person will live.
Developed by Blueprint Income, the test uses 400,000 samples from the National Institutes of Heath.
A similar online test from CardioSecur can determine a person’s risk of having a heart attack or stroke in the next ten years.
SCROLL DOWN TO TAKE THE TEST. USERS OF THE MAILONLINE APP CAN DO IT BY CLICKING HERE.
A Blueprint Income calculator can determine your expected life expectancy and measure how likely you are to reach the US median age of 76
Many factors can affect a person’s lifespan. The average American is now living to be 76.4 – a sharp drop due to the Covid pandemic.
While some are obvious, such as a person’s diet and exercise, whether they smoke or have conditions such as diabetes or heart disease, others may not be so obvious.
Education plays a major role in life expectancy. A 2021 study researchers at Princeton University found that people with a college education live an average of ten years longer.
They point out that this trend really took off in the 1990s, when college degrees became a barrier to stable, well-paid white-collar jobs.
This is because income is another important determinant of life expectancy.
A 2016 Harvard study found that the richest 1 percent of people live on average about 15 years longer than the poorest 1 percent.
The inequality arises because more affluent people have access to higher quality food and medical care, are less likely to develop chronic diseases and often have more leisure time than peers.
Surprisingly, marriage can also play a role in how long someone lives.
Married men, in particular, have a 15 percent lower risk of all-cause death each year than unmarried men, one study found.
This is because they usually have overall higher satisfaction with life – another factor associated with a long and healthy life.
Although it is not so pronounced, women benefit significantly of marriage in their lives as well.
Other factors that the Blueprint calculator takes into account include smoking, drinking habits, whether a person has diabetes and how many times per week they exercise.
Scientists have even discovered that short daily exercises may boost brain health and prevent conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Daily workouts are also good for the heart and especially welcome in the US, where cardiovascular disease is the country’s leading cause of death.
Regular smoking and drinking are associated with a host of cancers and other deadly diseases – in addition to routine damage to the heart, liver and other vital organs.