What is Your Life Expectancy?

What is your gender?

Male

Female

On average, women are expected to live longer than men across the world. This may be due to the fact that women are born with stronger immune systems, which prove useful as they get older in age.

From birth, Australian women are expected on average to reach 84 years, while Australian men are expected to live until they are 80, according to the World Health Organisation.

Obviously, we are a lucky country - Australian men have the third-highest life expectancy in the world, while the nation’s women come sixth globally. The difference between rich and poor countries is a huge factor, with lower life expectancies appearing in lower income nations.

What is your current age?

years

There is an interesting factor affecting our life expectancy: the longer you live, the longer you are expected to live.

For example, according to the Australian Life Tables from the Australian Government Actuary, if a female has reached 55 years of age, she can expect to live until she is 81.02, whereas a 78 year old female is expected to live until she is 89.61 (almost eight more years).

Why is this? Because the older you get, the more risks you’ve dodged—like infant mortality, car crashes, and violence. Plus, the three most common diseases that affect the older population—heart disease, cancer, and stroke— are being more effectively treated with recent health developments.

Are you an Indigenous Australian?

yes

no

According to a report released in 2014 by the Australian Government, Indigenous Australians are not likely to live as long as non-Indigenous Australians.

Even though improvements have been seen in recent years, the average life expectancy at birth for Indigenous males is 69.1 years, while for females is 73.7 years. This is approximately 10 years less than what non-Indigenous Australian face.

Some factors than can explain this gap could be several chronic diseases, metabolic and nutritional disorders, cancer and respiratory diseases, with circulatory diseases being the highest cause of death for Indigenous Australians.

Do you smoke?

yes

no

According to a report released in 2014 by the Australian Government, Indigenous Australians are not likely to live as long as non-Indigenous Australians.

Even though improvements have been seen in recent years, the average life expectancy at birth for Indigenous males is 69.1 years, while for females is 73.7 years. This is approximately 10 years less than what non-Indigenous Australian face.

Some factors than can explain this gap could be several chronic diseases, metabolic and nutritional disorders, cancer and respiratory diseases, with circulatory diseases being the highest cause of death for Indigenous Australians.

Your expected years left:

Continue to find out what else can influence your life expectancy

Other factors that can impact life expectancy

While age, gender, race, and smoking habits have some of the strongest impacts on life expectancy calculations, there are also many other factors which have less easily measured, but still important, influences how long you are estimated to live. Life expectancy is affected by factors such as:

socio - economic status, including employment, income, education and economic well-being
the quality of the health system and your ability to access it
health behaviours such as alcohol consumption, poor nutrition and lack of exercise
genetic factors, including family history of hereditary diseases
environmental factors including overcrowded housing, lack of clean drinking water and adequate sanitation.

Here’s some more information on some of those factors.

Alcohol

The impact of alcohol on life expectancy is not agreed upon by all scientists. It is generally understood that excessive alcohol intake can shorten your life expectancy. However, other studies suggest that drinking alcohol like red wine in small amounts may be more beneficial to your lifespan than drinking none at all.

While some studies say drinking a couple of red wine glasses a week could be beneficial for you health (even increasing your memory), abusing alcohol can be very dangerous to your wellbeing, having immediate as well as cumulative effects to your body.

In a report published online in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research in Germany, it was found that people who were dependant on alcohol (especially women) could be shortening their lifespan more than smokers. The study also highlighted that alcohol abuse can lead to other risk factors such as obesity and even smoking.

BMI

Body mass index, or BMI, is an indication of how much fat we have in our bodies. The quantity is the result of our weight divided by our height. This can show whether you are obese or not.

Obesity is a major health issue nowadays all over the world, in some cases due to the vasts choices of food people have access to - not all of them healthy. A new study coordinated by the Clinical Trial Service Unit (CTSU) in Oxford has shown that obesity can shorten your lifespan by 3 years, and in severe cases, by 10. That is the same amount as if you were a smoker.

Having 20 or 30 kilograms more on your body can increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, and even some types of cancer.

Healthy eating, fresh food and exercising frequently can reduce these risks and keep you in good shape for many more years.

Education

Studies have also found a relationship between education and life expectancy. More educated people engage in less risky behaviour and live generally healthier lives, and are less likely to smoke, drink heavily, become addicted to illegal drugs, and be obese or overweight.

Research conducted by the Harvard Medical School showed a 7-year life expectancy gap between those who have more than 12 years of education and the less educated. The study also revealed less educated women are expected to have a shorter lifespan than less educated men.

Find out how to increase your life expectancy

Ways to Increase Your Life Expectancy

While you may not have influence over factors such as your age, gender, race, or family history, you can change your lifestyle for the better. In fact, studies have found that lifestyle actually has a greater impact on life expectancy than genetics.

There are a number of things we can do to live healthier lifestyles and prolong our life expectancy. The best part is, it’s never too late to make a change!

Avoid bad habits

Obviously, avoiding bad habits that are known to negatively impact your life expectancy is one of the best things you can do. If you smoke, take recreational drugs, or drink to excess, take steps to moderate these behaviours immediately. Not only will you be likely to live longer, your body will thank you and you’ll feel healthier in the meantime. The government’s ‘Quit Now’ website is a good place to start, offering lots of tools that can help you on the journey. Avoiding other risky habits, such as driving without wearing a seat belt, will also increase your life expectancy.

Get in the sun

Being outside is great for your daily dose of vitamin D. This very important nutrient you get from the sun is great for bone health and can help prevent depression, heart disease, and diabetes. Go for a walk three times a week - if you’re moving while being exposed to vitamin D, even better!

Exercise

Exercise will keep you fit, agile, and strong, and can reduce heart disease, circulation problems, anxiety, and depression, among other things. If you don’t want to start exercising on your own, you can join group walks or classes in your neighbourhood or organise some activity with friends. One of the most complete (and fun) sports you can take up is swimming. Swimming uses all the muscles in your body against the resistance of the water, while your body floats, so there is no stress of impact in your body, making it the perfect sport for older people.

Go to the doctor

Medical tests and screenings can help you find and treat diseases early (when they are more treatable), which can add years to your life even if you do suffer from illness or disease.

Mind what you eat

Fatty, heavily processed foods are just not good for you. As mentioned before, keeping a healthy weight can reduce unnecessary risks. Try to always go for fresh, unpackaged food, such as vegetables, fruit, and fresh fish. Don’t forget to drink lots of water. Also, keep an eye on how much meat you eat: while red meats are a great source of iron, eating too much of it could also increase the risk of heart disease. Why not swap it for fish a couple of times a week? Eating fish once or twice a week can cut your risk of having a fatal heart attack by more than a third. It may also reduce the risk of several cancers and ease the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.

Challenge your mind

Experts say that stimulating mental activities, such as learning a new skill, playing bridge, meditating or attending a lecture may keep you mentally alert as you age. People who do more of these things in older adulthood tend to develop dementia at a lower rate.

Keep socialising

Having a positive attitude towards life is also key for a healthy lifestyle. Maintaining your relationship with your family and your friends makes you feel good and reminds you that you matter to other people. In particular, as you age, try to maintain contact with younger people, as it has been found that these kinds of social interactions improve the older generation’s cognitive abilities and vascular health and increase lifespan.

Get a pet

Having a pet can also have health benefits linked to longevity. Studies have shown that elderly people who own a pet need fewer doctor visits, are less likely to be depressed, and more likely to be active than those who don’t. They can also reduce high blood pressure and control stress levels. Pets provide a special bond, as well as allowing us to focus on something other than ourselves and our own problems.

Floss

Dentists have been telling us to floss for years, but now we have an important reason to listen to them. The reason that flossing has a correlation with life expectancy is that it can prevent gum disease and heart disease. If your gums become inflamed, you get chronic bacterial infections in your mouth which can harm your arteries as bacteria make their way into them. Plus, when your body creates an immune response to the bacteria, inflammation can occur, which can cause your arteries to narrow. This makes it difficult for your heart to do its job and can lead to heart disease.

Relax

Stress can have extremely adverse affects not only on our mental state, but also on our body. Stress provokes your body to pump out adrenaline and cortisol, which are meant to help you cope with danger in the short-term but which can damage your immune system, heart and brain when they occur for prolonged periods. Finding ways to de-stress could help improve your longevity.

Meditation

Spending a few minutes each day performing deep breathing exercises and mentally focusing on positive and calming thoughts has been found to reduce or even eliminate stress. Plus, regular meditation has been shown to enhance the body’s production of life-enhancing hormones, such as melatonin, DHEA, GABA and serotonin. These neurochemicals keep us feeling healthy, calm and at peace with ourselves. Join a class to practice with others or download a meditation app to help you learn.

Be optimistic

Having a more optimistic outlook can also help improve your life expectancy. The ability to not dwell on difficulties is one quality most centenarians share, according to the New England Centenarian Study. A part of this is also having a positive view of aging itself. One study found that individuals with a more positive view of aging tended to live seven-and-a-half years longer than those with more negative views of aging.

Help someone else

People who behave helpfully or considerately toward another person for just a few minutes a day report much greater self-esteem and happiness. There could be physical benefits of lending a hand too - studies have found that people who make a habit of helping others report better health than those who don’t, and seniors who do volunteer work may actually live longer.

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