A calculator to determine our real health age has been created by private healthcare firm BUPA. Curious about what yours is?
If feels like everyday there is a new piece of research assessing our lifestyle. We drink too much. We don't do enough exercise. And we certainly eat all the wrong foods. But a new 'health age calculator' launched by BUPA could help improve our lifestyles.
By assessing over 5,000 people, BUPA has created a calculator whereby respondents enter their age, height and weight and answer small details about their life. Providing you don't cheat, the calculator will then publish your 'health age', and you will be told how you can improve your lifestyle.
Over the course of the study, BUPA found that middle-aged women are among the unhealthiest groups in the country. Resuls showed that women are shortening their life expectancy by up to 12 years by eating too much, exercising too little and excessively smoking and drinking.
'We all know that bad habits such as smoking and drinking too much alcohol damage our health, but these findings show the real impact of our habits and the number of years we’re knocking off our lives unnecessarily,' said Dr Annabel Bentley, medical director at Bupa Health and Wellbeing.
'Whether you’re in your twenties or in your seventies, you could add years to your life by making lifestyle changes,' she added.
It is not all doom and gloom though. The research shows that being in a stable relationship can help couples live up to four years longer.
To find out what your 'health age' is, visit www.bupa.co.uk/findhealthy
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