The Good Health Magazine : HOW LONG WILL YOU LIVE?

Start this test with 72 points.

If you are male, subtract 3. If female, add 4.

If you live in an urban area with a population of more than 2 million, subtract 2.

If you live in a town with fewer than 10,000 people or on a farm, add 2.

If any grandparent lived to age 85, add 2.

If all four grandparents lived to age 80, add 6.

If either parent died of a stroke or a heart attack before the age of 50, subtract 4.

If either parent, a brother or a sister under 50 has (or had) cancer or a heart condition, or has had diabetes since childhood, subtract 3.

If you earn more than $50,000 a year, subtract 2.

If you have finished college, add 1. If you have a graduate or professional degree, add 2 more.

If you are 65 or older and working, add 3.

If you live with a spouse or friend, add 5. If not, subtract 1 for every 10 years you’ve lived alone since age 25.

If you work behind a desk, subtract 3.

If your work requires regular heavy physical labor, add 3.

If you exercise strenuously five times a week for at least a half hour, add 4. If two or three times a week, add 2.

If you sleep more than 10 hours each night, subtract 4.

Are you intense, aggressive, easily angered? If yes, subtract 3.

Are you easy going and relaxed? If so, add 3.

Are you happy? Add 1. Unhappy? Subtract 2.

Have you had a speeding ticket in the past year? If so, subtract 1.

Do you smoke more than two packs of cigarettes a day? If yes, subtract 8. One to two packs, subtract 6. Half pack to one pack, subtract 3.

Do you drink the equivalent of 1 1/2 ounces of liquor a day? If yes, subtract 1.

Are you overweight by 50 or more pounds? If yes, subtract 8. By 30 to 50 pounds? Subtract 4. By 10 to 30 pounds, subtract 2.

If you are a man older than 40 and have annual checkups, add 2.

If you are a woman and see a gynecologist once a year, add 2.

If you are between 30 and 40, add 2.

If you are between 50 and 70, add 4.

If you are past 70, add 5.

Now add up your score to get your life expectancy.

From “Lifegain,” by Robert F. Allen and Shirley Linde, courtesy Pepperdine University.