A Holiday Gift For You: More Quality of Life Years
By Claire Kruppe, M.D. and Patty M. Henderson, M.A.

What if someone this holiday season offered you a gift of extending your life 5-10 years?  Would you accept it joyfully or would you ignore the offer?

Remember: YOUR HEALTH IS YOUR WEALTH and only you can add to or improve it.  You have a health “bank account” known as your life expectancy and things affect it, just as deposits or withdrawals affect a financial account.  Some factors are beyond your control (i.e., genetics, accidents, etc…) and others only you can add or subtract. 

Listed below are those factors that have the greatest impact on your life expectancy and Quality of Life Years (QALYs):

SMOKING
Every cigarette smoked has been calculated to reduce your lifespan by 11 minutes and a pack a day for one year (described as a “pack year”) reduces your life by two months.  A 25-year-old smoker will lose 10-11 QALYs and up to 14 years of their expected life span.  

OBESITY
We all hear it every day, overweight and obesity leads to severe health issues such as elevated blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular/cerebrovascular disease, among many others.  However, put into mortality figures depending on the degree of the overweight condition as measured by Body Mass Index (BMI), life expectancy may be reduced by three to nine years and the QALYs shortened by three to six years.

EXERCISE
A 25-year-old inactive person will lose seven QALYs and shorten their life expectancy by as many as nine years.  Even at the age of 50 years, if you were to increase exercise with high physical activity, you would increase your life expectancy by three years.

SUPPORTIVE NETWORK OF FRIENDS AND SENSE OF USEFULLNESS
After 65 is a period called the “third age.”  Often this time is characterized by disengagement from paid work, lack of caretaking demands for children and lack of productive or social participation.  In the seven year MacArthur Study of Successful Aging, it was shown that a feeling of low self-worth or depression, unrelated to other underlying disabilities, led to a nearly 20% decrease in lifespan during that period.  It was found that a sense of involvement, productiveness, friendships and positive attitudes were important factors in longevity. True supportive friends add not only to a long life but also add joy and happiness to your days as you travel life’s pathways with its curves and bumps.  Begin now! Focus on consciously building a supportive network of real friends.  Add to it if you’ve already begun.

Uncommonly successful people (USP’s) already know the brain is capable of BIG tasks.  In fact, often it is totally possible to choose a particularly effective thought to focus on and …with a slight shift in consciousness, a new behavior can be established.  So, give yourself a special present this season, the kind USP’s give themselves…the grandest gift of success, the greatest wealth you can possess, the gift of good health.  YOUR HEALTH IS YOUR WEALTH. 

You might ask how can I afford it?  How can you not?  You may need a counselor or life coach to give you a little boost.  And like any gift it will have some cost.  It will take some time and effort.  However, it will come with a great reward of greater Quality of Life Years and yes, a longer life expectancy.  The key is MOTIVATION!  Some come by this naturally and others may need a guiding hand.  The gift is there for you to give and for you to receive.  Seize it this season!

Pathways To Wellness, an Alternative Medical and Life Coaching Service, Claire Kruppe, M.D. and Patty M. Henderson, M.A. can be found at pathwaystowellness@aol.com, www.PathwaysToWellnessOnline.com, 760.409.5032 or 866.917.8304.