U. S. life expectancy at birth is 78.8 years. The 14 leading causes of death, in order of frequency, are heart disease, cancers, respiratory diseases, accidents, stroke, alzheimers disease, diabetes, influenza and pneumonia, kidney disease, suicide, blood poisoning caused by bacteria or toxins, liver disease and cirrhosis, hypertension, and parkinsons disease. Knowing your health risks and practicing preventive measures can lower your risks to an early death.
Life-expectancy is increasingly determined by health behavior, as opposed to genetic factors alone. This theme in longevity research has most recently been re-affirmed in the AMA’s report, “Association Between Income and Life Expectancy in the U.S” (2016), which underscores the significant influence health behaviors play in life-expectancy.
Do you want to know how long you’ll live?
Dr. David J. Demko, University of Michigan doctoral graduate with certifications in gerontology (U-Michigan Institute of Gerontology), geriatric functional assessment (USF Medical), senior center administration (U-Michigan), geriatric milieu therapy (EMU), and retirement planning leadership (AARP Washington), says,
“If you’re coming down with a bad case of Age Anxiety, here’s some good news. Seventy-five percent of human aging can be self-regulated. But what exactly does one regulate? Granted, heredity plays a key role. But at least six lifestyle factors also regulate aging.”
He goes on to describe those life-style factors and the way they work to increase (or decrease) your chances of making it beyond the century mark… … …or longer!
You can take his evaluation (its confidential), and you can follow the prompt here or at the top of the page.
There’re no guarantee, of course. Its only a test.
Do you want to know your score?
Behold; The Aging Sociologist 