Life Expectancy
Actuarial estimate of remaining years, adjusted for the lifestyle factors that move the needle most. Sobering, useful.
Estimate
Estimated remaining years
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Country baseline
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Lifestyle adjustments
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⚕ This is a population-average estimate. Genetics, occupation, healthcare access, and a hundred other factors move it. Don't plan a funeral.
Period vs cohort life tables
This uses a period life table — current death rates at every age applied to a hypothetical cohort. It assumes today's mortality patterns continue unchanged. A cohort life table would project future improvements (or declines) in those rates, which actuaries do for insurance pricing. The period number is more honest as a "where am I starting from" baseline.
The lifestyle adjusters
The numbers come from large-population studies:
- Smoking (−10 years) — CDC's "Decades of life lost to tobacco." 10 years is the population average; quitting before 40 reclaims most of that.
- Heavy drinking (−5 years) — >4 drinks/day (men) or >3/day (women).
- Sedentary (−3 years) — <30 min activity/day. Lancet 2012 meta-analysis.
- Regular exercise (+3 years) — 150+ min/wk moderate or 75+ vigorous, the standard WHO recommendation.
- BMI extremes — both ends of the curve carry mortality risk, but obesity (BMI ≥ 30) more than mild underweight.
What this calculator can't see
Family history, genetic conditions, occupational hazards, ZIP code (huge effect — life expectancy can differ by 20+ years between US counties), education level, mental health, social isolation, healthcare access, sleep quality. The simple model is useful for "what changes here move the needle" but not as a personal prophecy.