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How long will you live? Use our tool to find out.

(59 Posts)
FriedGreenTomatoes2 Sun 09-Mar-25 20:39:23

So says an article in the Sunday Telegraph! I didn’t read it.
Even if it were accurate, I wouldn’t want to know.
Would you?

Himself just made me laugh when I told him about it…
ā€œI would love to live to see the end of the DFS sale, that will do for me.ā€
šŸ˜‚

Elegran Sun 16-Mar-25 10:32:07

Here is a slightly more nuanced site. It allows you to select one of four health levels.-
1) Excellent health. Non-smoker. No past medical history. No medications.
2) Good health. Non-smoker. Limited minor medical history or medications (such as for hypertension).
3) Average health, including light smoker with no medical history or non-smoker with minor health concerns (such as one of hypertension, obesity, or diabetes controlled by diet alone).
4) Smoker (not heavy) with limited past medical history and medications.
5) Heavy smoker; 1 pack (20 cigarettes) per day or more.

If you re-run it on different smoking levels, it could give you a hint on whether stopping or cutting down on ciggies could be good for your life expectancy!

www.lifeexpectancy.org/asp/calculator/default.asp

Elegran Sun 16-Mar-25 10:13:25

Cariad There are actuarial tables of the statistics on the AVERAGE life expectancy of people born in each year. These are calculated by adding together the data existing in death registers of how old people were when their death was registered, and dividing it by the number of people who died at that age. Life insurance companies use these tables to calculate how much to charge customers, according to their age, so that they when they pay out on their death, they will still end up with a profit.

Trust an insurance firm to always make a profit.

That is where those "Put in your age and see how long you will live" posts get their information from. No connection whatsoever with the realities of individual lifesyles and personalities.

CariadAgain Sun 16-Mar-25 09:54:43

Elegran

There are other sites where you just put in age and sex, and they tell you the average life expectancy of anyone who has already reached the age you put in. Obviously you are not going to live to a younger age than you are now, and the older you are, the older you will be when you die (duhh!)

If they are not asking any questions about current health, about smoking and drinking and other bad habits, and about diet, exercise and mental stimulation, then all you will find out is how old a lot of other people your age are when they kick the bucket or cash in their chips (not all - there might be some who lived to 110 and others who didn't make it to a birthday that you will celebrate in a couple of months - that is the problem with averages).

The only possible positive is that it might give you the incentive to sort out your will and burn the raunchy love letters from your secret lover before your "average" demise takes you off suddenly.

Agh....I did see one of those websites for telling expected age of death that was based on how old you are now!

There was me confidently thinking "83 is average age of death for British women" and then asking us to put in the actual age we personally are right now and they proceeded to add a couple of years on for me personally - agh!! Apparently the reasoning was that the unhealthiest tranche of us will have already died (ie my erstwhile brother was due to die sometime between 20 and 40 - due to the family heart attack problems - but he had a very young age heart bypass). Thus they seem to reckon "Well anyone that's lived on into their 70's must be in the healthiest tranche" and put up our expected age of death!

That's one they don't give any indication of on any table I've ever seen - what our "natural" age of death is likely to be. These tables are not very accurate in two respects I feel - 1. They don't give any indication of how many people have died "naturally at their given time" and how many people have had artificially prolonged lives. All three of my erstwhile family have had their lives artificially prolonged - 1. last I knew my erstwhile brother (5 years younger than me and in his 60's now) is still artificially alive (ie hauled back several times by "modern medicine"). 2. My parents were respectively due to die at my father in his 50's (heart bypass time) and maybe even before that from heart attacks - but was artificially alive until 93!!!! 3. My mother was due to die from pneumonia a few years before she did so and maybe of a heart attack she'd had some time before that - but was artificially alive until 93. They brought both of them back "from the brink" more than once. That's not counting the fact that they were both possibly due to die in the Lockerbie Crash back in the 1980s (as they were having a mini-break in the area at the time and my mother took it into her head they must leave that area early - the day before the plane crashed there - yep....she's descended from that Scottish clan that are known for having "the Sight" and so I guess she "saw" that happening and hence they came away before it did.

Me personally - I'm "naturally alive" in my 70's - and reckon the difference as to why I've not died yet is I've been eating healthily since my 30's. Yep...I groan loudly each time anyone refers to "eat healthily/do this/do that and you'll be healthy and live long" and I'm there going "Now how on earth do I get the first part and the first part only of that equation - ie I want to be healthy throughout BUT I don't want that to mean my life is extended". Do people like me get landed with an expectation of "reach 100 and get a telegram from the President"? I hope they've invented good natural antidepressants then if that's the case.....

I have a theory that those of us who make a reasonable effort to look after our health do get lumbered with long lives unless we've "done everything we came for" and have no people we wish to live on for and no Major Project left we wish to finish and so, hopefully, that'll be me off the hook for being safe from having a long life. I've done my Major Projects back in my 20's and 30's (when I was still an idealist).

My take on things in my own family is my erstwhile sister-in-law is the reason my erstwhile brother is still alive AFAIK. My father felt he had to remain "alive" for those extra decades - as his wife/my mother was not the worlds most independent person and I'm not sure how well she would have fared left on her own without her much more capable husband.

Elegran Sat 15-Mar-25 18:51:21

There are other sites where you just put in age and sex, and they tell you the average life expectancy of anyone who has already reached the age you put in. Obviously you are not going to live to a younger age than you are now, and the older you are, the older you will be when you die (duhh!)

If they are not asking any questions about current health, about smoking and drinking and other bad habits, and about diet, exercise and mental stimulation, then all you will find out is how old a lot of other people your age are when they kick the bucket or cash in their chips (not all - there might be some who lived to 110 and others who didn't make it to a birthday that you will celebrate in a couple of months - that is the problem with averages).

The only possible positive is that it might give you the incentive to sort out your will and burn the raunchy love letters from your secret lover before your "average" demise takes you off suddenly.

Oreo Sat 15-Mar-25 17:55:58

It can’t be accurate, however many the questions about family genes and medical history as you can be mown down by an Amazon van at any given moment.

whywhywhy Sat 15-Mar-25 16:00:10

Unigran4 - I’m so sorry to read that. Hugs.
I told my grandkids that I’m immortal (immoral) because they ask what I was leaving them when I die. I didn’t find them funny at all but I am estranged from my daughter - their mother! Wonder what they’ll ask next?

FriedGreenTomatoes2 Sat 15-Mar-25 15:57:34

šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚

RosieandherMaw Sat 15-Mar-25 15:56:47

gringringrinIt is common knowledge that women who are overweight live longer than husbands who make reference to it.

FriedGreenTomatoes2 Sat 15-Mar-25 15:53:23

That is fantastic to hear mabon. Heartening too for many on here living with cancer in the family.

mabon1 Fri 14-Mar-25 21:48:55

My daughter in law was told by the oncologist six months and to get her house in order. she lived another seven years.

CariadAgain Thu 13-Mar-25 10:18:52

Cabbie21

I’m hoping I stay healthy enough to enjoy the rest of my days, however long or short. What I don’t want is to live for many years, but in poor health or with dementia.

With you on that one - I personally certainly would not want time with major health problems.

I've made out a list of minor ailments stuff (if one counts deaf in one ear as minor.....) to get rid of and am working my way through them currently to remove them.

Each to their own and a lot is going to depend on personal circumstances. There's part of me that thinks "It's taken me all these years (ie decades) to get into a passable financial situation - ie having spent most of my life scrimping/scraping/doing extra work on top of a full-time job = so I should have some time to make the best of having finished with poverty at last. Not wealthy - but getting on with my modest lifestyle without having to worry about every penny any longer".

There's another part of me that thinks "I'm steadily getting more disillusioned with the world and many of the people in it and can't see anything much 'new' on the horizon for me - and so might as well leave pretty soon now".

Haven't been able to get hold of that Telegraph article - as was hoping to have a go at that calculator and not been able to find any other - ie where one can put in personal stuff that will affect it one way or another. So all I can go by is my erstwhile younger brother (late 60's) is still "sorta alive" and both my parents were "sorta alive" until 93. I say "sorta alive" to differentiate from "alive without having had major medical work done that kept them alive". I'm "naturally alive" as I call it (ie no major medical work - and I made the decision long ago that I wouldnt choose to be "revived - and sorta alive"). Other people will make other choices - but my own choice is "alive and well" or "forget it - I don't want to know".

westendgirl Thu 13-Mar-25 10:15:13

Third time , here goes , sorry Unigran, flowers,flowers

westendgirl Thu 13-Mar-25 10:13:30

Oh dear, I got that wrong . Unigran , apologies.
(flowers)

westendgirl Thu 13-Mar-25 10:11:34

Unigran, flowers, flowers.They do make mistakes.

Cabbie21 Thu 13-Mar-25 09:53:20

I’m hoping I stay healthy enough to enjoy the rest of my days, however long or short. What I don’t want is to live for many years, but in poor health or with dementia.

annodomini Thu 13-Mar-25 09:46:06

I've already lived quite a lot longer than either of my parents did. I don't want to know how long I have left - taking each day as it comes and counting my blessings the greatest of which is the love of my family.

luluaugust Thu 13-Mar-25 09:18:00

unifran flowers

Merseymog Thu 13-Mar-25 09:01:47

Seconded would like to outlive Trump, Putin and Brexit!

Merseymog Thu 13-Mar-25 09:00:37

I'm more worried about being Demented or failing in other areas of health. I just keep myself as well as I can and hope the end is quick when it comes!

Chocolatelovinggran Wed 12-Mar-25 15:47:56

Unigran ,sending you best wishes and every hope that you defy the odds.
* granbabies* there's no chance of me living long enough for me to revenge myself on the grief that my four caused me in their teen years ...I'd need a century.

sharon103 Wed 12-Mar-25 13:34:04

Unigran flowers

Rula Tue 11-Mar-25 23:20:27

Unigran4

Although I don't know the exact date I have been told by my Oncologist that I won't see next Christmas. I sort of wish I didn't know that!! But at least I know not to renew my subscriptions!

That's an awful thing to be told, unigran I look forward with hope that you will see Christmas. Doctors can and do get this wrong

Look at Noddy Holder. About 5 years ago he was told he had 6 months to live. And he's still here.

Grammaretto Tue 11-Mar-25 23:09:36

Oh unigran flowers
That's tough.
DH had stage 4 cancer for 4 years. He had too much to do to cave in. He was only really poorly in the last 3 weeks. Before that he made the most of every day and achieved a great deal. He also got to enjoy his DGC and we had some bucket list adventures.

I guess I may live till I'm over 90 as my DM did but I could drop dead tomorrow. My dad died in an accident aged 41.

Dogwalkingnana Tue 11-Mar-25 22:57:48

I want to outlive Trump and then celebrate.

keepingquiet Tue 11-Mar-25 22:34:20

Saturday you can have a kip...