Today is the first day of the rest of your life. How many more might there be? The following test may give you an idea. It was included in the October 1996 edition of the French magazine Paris Match, in an article entitled Calculez Votre Esperance de Vie ("Calculate Your Life Expectancy"), the subtitle of which was Vin, Amour et Fantaisie, c'est le cocktail "longue vie" ("Wine, Love and Caprice, it's the 'long life' cocktail"). Who else but the French would come up with such a subtitle?

The source of the test, according to the article, was a book The Age Heresy, the work of two British life insurance actuaries, Tony Buzan and Raymond Keene.

(The following descriptions and direct quotes from the text are my translations from the original French of the article.)

The test begins with two columns of numbers side-by-side:

Your Present Age........... Your Life Expectancy
20-32............................................. 74.1-74.9
33-44............................................. 75.0-75.9
45-50............................................. 76.0-76.8
51-55..............................................77.0-77.9
56-58.............................................78.1-78.5
59-61..............................................79.0-79.3
62-63.............................................80.0-80.3
64-67.............................................81.1-81.9
68-69............................................82.3-82.7
70 and above.... ...........................83.2

The above table applies to women; men should subtract three years for their life expectancy. Then make the additions/subtractions of years that apply to your situation as called for in each of the 24 questions below.

1. Your grandparents: if they lived 80 or more years, add one year for each; if they reached 70, add six months for each.

2. Your parents: if your mother reached 80 years, add 4 years, 2 years if your father reached 80.

3. Cardiac disease: if one of your close kin (brother, sister, parent or grandparent) died of a heart attack or other cardiovascular disease, deduct 4 years. For each brother or sister who died between 50 and 60 deduct 2 years.

4. Diabetes and stomach ulcer: for the same close kin who died before age 60 from these diseases deduct 3 years. Stomach cancer: if diagnosed of a close relative younger than 60, deduct 2 years. Other diseases: for any non-accidental death of a close family member before age 60, deduct I year.

5. The advantages of being a first child: if you were lucky enough to be the first child, add 1 year.

6. Effect of smoking on life expectancy: if you smoke more than 40 cigarettes a day, deduct 12 years (yes, 12); between 20 and 40 deduct 7 years; if less than 20, that will still cost 2 years.

7. If you make love once or twice a week, add 2 years.

8. If you live as a couple in a stable relation, add 1 year. If you are a man living alone after a separation, deduct 9 years. A widower living alone, deduct 7 years; one living with members of his family, only deduct 3 1/2 years. A widow living alone, deduct 3 1/2 years; if she lives in a home where care is provided, deduct 2 years. A divorced or separated woman, deduct 4 years.

9. Women without children, deduct 6 months. A woman with seven or more children, deduct 1 year.

10. If you are overweight or have been, deduct 2 years.

11. If you have annual check-ups, add 2 years.

12. If you are frequently sick, deduct 5 years.

13. If you have lived over half of your life in a city, deduct 1 year, if over half in the country, add 1 year.

14. If you sleep more than 10 hours or less than 5, deduct 2 years.

15. Effect of drinking on health: if you drink a moderate amount of alcohol, add 3 years. If you only drink occasionally, only add 1 1/2 years. If always sober, you don't add or subtract any points. However, heavy drinkers, especially alcoholics, deduct 8 years.

16. Sports activity: jogging, bicycling, swimming, walking or dancing three times a week, add 3 years.

17. A simple diet: vegetables, fruits, meats, and you leave the table before being full, add 1 year.

18. If you are fortunate to have one or two close friends with whom you can talk in confidence, add 1 year.

19. If you have a positive attitude toward life, if a realist, add 4 years.

20. Above-average intelligence: if your IQ is over 100, add 2 years.

21. If you enjoy chess, cross word puzzles, or bridge, add 2 years.

22. Level of education: if you graduated from college or have done advanced study, add 1 year.

23. If you work, add 1 1/2 years. If you are a technician, executive or have a management position or are a farmer, add another year. If you don't qualify for any of the above, deduct 6 months. If an agricultural worker, deduct 4 years. (My observation: If you own the farm, you add one year; but if a hired hand, you deduct 4 years. Seems strange.)

24. If you work with physical activity (other than farm work), add 2 years. Sedentary work costs 2 years.

The results obtained provide an indication of your longevity. It's up to you now. You can improve your score by modifying your life style.

I have taken the test four times--in 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2006. My longevity from them ranged from 95.7 to 97.7 years (the most recent, in February 2006, had me reaching 95.7 years). Events that affected these scores were, one, that I entirely quit smoking in 1999 (previously, I had been smoking 3-4 cigarettes a day for many years) and two, following my retirement from full-time work in January 1992, I did a considerable amount of consulting work in the field of financial analysis of insurance companies (including writing a book on the subject which was published in 1993) through the end of 2003, since which I have been fully retired.

I wish you long life.