1. Staying Well

HealthyLife® Risk Appraisal

Step 1.

In the Healthy Habits™ Test that follows, write the number of years gained or lost for each

health habit. Total this number. Write it in BOX A on the bottom of this page.

# Years

A. Physical Fitness.

If you exercise:

  1. •At least 3 times a week or are physically active at work, add 3 years.

  2. •Rarely and work at a sedentary job, subtract 2 years.


B. Cigarette Smoking.

  1. •If you smoke daily or ever have, subtract 14 years.


If you stopped smoking at about:

  1. •Age 60 add back 3 years.

  2. •Age 50, add back 6 years.

  3. •Age 40, add back 9 years.


C. Weight Control. If you are:

  1. •Within 5 pounds of your healthy weight, add 1 year.

  2. •Overweight by 11-30 pounds, subtract 1 year.

  3. •Overweight by 31 or more pounds, subtract 2 years.


D. Alcohol.

  1. •If you drink moderate amounts of alcohol daily, add 3 years.

  2. •If you drink heavily, subtract 8 years.


E. Blood Pressure. If the lower number is:

  1. •Under 90, add 4 years.

  2. •Between 90-104, subtract 2 years.

  3. •Above 104, subtract 4 years.


F. Stress.

  1. •If you are relaxed most of the time, and have a positive attitude, add 4 years.

  2. •If you have a high degree of stress in your life, subtract 2 years


G. Auto Safety. If you wear a seatbelt:

  1. •100% of the time, add 3 years

  2. •None of the time, subtract 3 years


H. Cholesterol. If your cholesterol is:

  1. •200 or lower, add 2 years

  2. •Between 201 and 239, subtract 1 year

  3. •240 or above, subtract 2 years

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BOX A: Healthy Habits™ Years

Total from A-H in Step 1 _____

BOX B: Life Span from Step 2 _________

Box C: Healthy Habits™ Life Span

Add Box A ________

     + Box B ________

     = Total   ________

Step 2.

Find your gender, race, and age in the following Life Expectancy Table. Note the average age you can expect to live in the “Life Span” column for your gender and race. Write this number in Box B.

Source: National Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 56, No. 9, December 28, 2007

This total estimates how long you may live based upon your health habits. As you make changes listed in this chapter, retake the test to see if you’ve added years to your life span.