How long will you live?
W e are not talking about those apps on Facebook that predict that you will die while bungee jumping at the age of 63. We are talking hard science. There are some useful, and simple tests and calculators to help us figure out how many more years we have left. TREADMILL TEST
Want to know if you’ll survive the decade? Hop on a treadmill. Johns Hopkins researchers analysed more than 58,000 stress tests and concluded that the results of a treadmill test can predict survival over the next 10 years.
They found that fitness level, as measured by METs and peak heart rate reached during exercise, were the best predictors of death and survival, even after accounting for important variables such as diabetes and family history of premature death. SITTING TEST
Brazilian physician Claudio Gil Araujo this test. To try, start by standing upright in the middle of a room. Without using your arms or hands for balance, carefully squat into a cross- legged sitting position. Once you’re settled, stand up from the sitting position — again, without using your arms for help. You can earn up to 10 points for this maneuver. You get five points for sitting, five for standing, and you subtract a point each time you use an arm or knee for leverage or ½ point any time you lose your balance. Araujo tested over 2,000 patients age 51 to 80, and found that those who scored fewer than eight points were twice as likely to die within the next six years. Those who scored three points or lower were five times more likely to die within the same time frame. TEST YOUR TELOMERES
Telomeres are protective sections of DNA located at the end of your chromosomes. Each time a cell replicates, the telomeres become shorter. Some researchers believe that lifespan can be roughly predicted based upon how long your telomeres are. Shorter telomeres hint at a shorter lifespan for cells. Longer telomeres may mean you have more cell replications left. GRIP TEST
Recent research has shown a link between grip strength and your biological age. Hand- grip strength typically decreases as you age, although many studies have shown links between stronger grip strength and increased mortality. TAKE A SNIFF
In a study released last year, University of Chicago researchers asked more than 3,000 people to identify five different scents. The found that 39 per cent of the study subjects who failed the smelling test died within five years, compared to 19 per cent of those with moderate smell loss and just 10 per cent of those with a healthy sense of smell.