Good Years

Most people know roughly how long they might live. Almost nobody knows how many of those years are likely to be healthy ones — and that second number is the one worth doing something about. Good Years asks about ten things: smoking, blood pressure, movement, drink, weight, sleep and diet among them. It takes about three minutes. Then it shows you two figures side by side: how long people who answered like you live on average, and how long they typically stay in good health. The distance between them has a name. It is years lived in less than full health, and across whole populations it runs to about a decade. Good Years shows you yours next to the ordinary figure for your country, so you can see whether it is unusual or simply normal. WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT Try a change and watch both numbers move. Quitting smoking, walking most days, drinking less, sleeping seven to eight hours —…