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Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director of Doctissimo)
Medical validation:
November 15, 2024
An American doctor claims to be able to estimate an individual’s longevity using a magical “calculator”. Information to take seriously? The response from Dr Gérald Kierzek.
In 2023, according to INSEE, 30,000 centenarians resided on French territory, almost 30 times more than in the years 1960-1975. But does the same destiny (of life) await us? To find out, Thomas Perls, geriatrics doctor at Boston Medical Center and professor of medicine at Boston University, has developed a “life expectancy calculator up to 100 years”, based on around fifty criteria, formulated in the form of questions. A reliable indicator? Here is what Dr Gérald Kierzek, medical director of doctissimo, thinks.
This calculator, available free online, is based on scientific research and statistics.
Via a questionnaire, you are asked about your personal situation, your lifestyle, your eating routine, your health and your family history.
More “mundane” criteria are also requested such as gender, date of birth, level of education, country, build… Then, after about ten minutes, the calculator estimates how many years you still have to live.
Obviously, certain factors, such as a difficult job, an addiction (to junk food, tobacco, etc.) cause you to lose years of life.
However, Dr Perls specifies that we should not be alarmed in view of the results obtained. This test is above all informative and should, at best, alert you to your bad lifestyle habits.
“This test is intended to provide general information about aspects of health behavior, prevention strategies, and medicine-related variables that impact life expectancy“, but he is not a “attempt to practice medicine or provide specific medical advice“.
What does Dr Gérald Kierzek think?
These are just statistics which should not be taken as truths, explains the medical director of Doctissimo.
“It is impossible to predict individual life expectancy. But the period of birth, the behavior (tobacco, alcohol…). Stress and marital status are all elements which, according to studies, can influence the longevity. But if you hope to have a date of your death, it is strictly impossible, at most you can improve prevention, your lifestyle and reduce the risk factors to go further. concludes the doctor.
To “age better”, a prevention assessment can be carried out
If France is in the top ranks of European countries in terms of life expectancy, it is in 10th place for healthy life expectancy.
Aware of these gaps, the Ministry of Health and Health Insurance has set up a personalized system allowing everyone to discuss their lifestyle habits at certain key ages (diet, sleep, activity) with a health professional. physical health, mental health, sexual health, etc.). The name of this device? “My prevention report“.
“This involves better identifying disease risk factors and encouraging everyone to become an actor in their own health by adopting health-promoting behaviors.“, underlines Public Health France.
Slide: Life expectancy: 8 good habits to adopt to lengthen it