Dear Kosterina Family,
Do you want to know how your lifestyle habits will affect your longevity?
Last month I wrote about Blue Zones-- 5 areas of the world that have a higher than average population of centenarians (people who live to be over 100). And now the Blue Zones Project has a developed a quick test to determine your life expectancy. You can find the Vitality Test here or on the homepage at bluezones.com. It was built in collaboration with the University of Minnesota and has been cited in the Wall Street Journal as a best in class longevity calculator.
The simple quiz first asks some basic questions to determine your baseline life expectancy and then dives in a bit more with questions about your stress levels, movement/exercise habits, eating habits, interpersonal connections and environment. It took me less than 5 minutes to complete and then I was immediately sent my results.
So according to the test, I’m going to live to be 91.5 years old (not bad!) but I’ll be healthy and disease free only until 78 (hmmm, not as excited about that). Apparently I can add 6 more healthy years by: Eating more whole grains, fruit, and wine(!) and reducing meat, sodium and junk foods. Nurturing and prioritizing friendships was also an area for improvement. I was surprised to see how much the interpersonal relationship and connectivity questions affected the output.
I’d love to hear what other Kosterina community members think of the test. Leave your thoughts in a comment below!
