Frugal Café Blog Zone

Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on August 28, 2009

Do, or don't, fear the reaper? New death risk rating calculator available online.

University of Carnegie Mellon’s death calculator website is creating quite the stir.

The new website calculates a person’s risk of death according to locale, ethnicity (US only), age, and gender from top 66 causes of death. Death risk rankings is an evolving tool that will eventually have statistics about traffic safety, mortality risk, vehicle technology, and hospital admissions added.

Death risk rankings compare death rates in Europe and the US, how death causes change with age, differences in risk of dying between men and women, and differences in death risk between blacks and whites in the United States. The results at Death Risk Rankings are tailored to groups of society, rather than individuals.

From FOX News:

For every age group, men have a much higher annual death risk than women. For 20-year-olds, the risk is 2.5 to three times greater for men. Men are much more prone to accidents, homicides and suicides, and the risk of dying from heart disease is always higher for men than women, peaking in the 50s when men are 2.5 times at greater risk of dying.

Women’s cancer risks are higher than men’s in their 30s and 40s.

For heart disease and cancer, U.S. blacks have a much higher death risk than U.S. whites. Overall, blacks in their 30s and 40s are twice as likely to die within the year as their white counterparts. Only for suicides, do whites consistently exceed blacks, where whites typically have two to three times greater chances of dying.

For 20-year-old males, 80 percent of their death risks are from accidents, homicides and suicides. By age 50, however, these causes make up less than 10 percent and heart disease is No. 1, accounting for more than 30 percent of all deaths.

Obesity-related death risks are much higher in the United States than in Europe. For example, the annual diabetes death risk in the United States is three times that found in northern Europe for 60 year olds.

Put your info in at the site, and the calculator will determine the probable causes of your death in the future, as well as providing conclusions on the timing of your death. Visit the death risk ranking site at University of Carnegie Mellon by clicking here.

Here are nine common-sense, frugal ways, compiled by Huliq News, you can adopt so as to improve your own death risk ranking. You can improve your death risk ranking, while improving your quality of life and your longevity. We often get so busy that we forget to take the time for ourselves and often take our health for granted.

1. Eat Right
Eating the proper foods is the first step to becoming healthier and reducing your death risk. It helps you loose weight or maintain a healthy weight. Obesity increases your risks of many health issues such as heart disease, liver problems, diabetes and some cancers to name just a few.

Eating foods that have antioxidants in them will increase your body’s ability to fight off some diseases and health issues. Some foods rich in antioxidants are beans, blueberries and other berries, and artichokes. Red wine in moderation is also a good source. Women only need one glass a day, while men only need two glasses.

2. Get a Good Night Sleep
We all know not enough sleep is bad for us. It is also true if you get too much sleep. Experts recommend that you only need 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Too little or too much and it is unhealthy. If you do not get the proper amount of sleep you will increase your risks of high blood pressure, heart disease and weight gain.
Guess this is one of those cases that too much of a good thing is bad.

3. Live Happily Ever After
Studies have shown that being married will increase your life expectancy. For men this could be an increase of up to ten years and four years for women. The companionship factor of having a spouse is the key to being married decreasing your death risk ranking.

4. Have a Pet
Similar to being married, having a pet will increase your life expectancy and your life. A pet is a great companion and spending time with them can improve your mood. This will decrease your stress which plays a factor in many health issues. It can give you some additional exercise in your life by simply taking them for a walk. It can also give you a purpose to live in your life.

5. See Your Doctor
By going to your doctor on a regular basis you can often catch an illness early enough to cure it or to prevent it from developing into a major health issue. Be sure and have your cholesterol levels checked periodically. Cholesterol is a key factor to heart disease which is the number one killer in the US.

6. Sex, Yes Sex
Having sex in a faithful relationship can actually improve your life expectancy. It also improves the quality of your life too. The main factor of having frequent quality sex with your partner is improves your mood. This lowers stress which lowers health issues such as high blood pressure. The act of having sex also releases hormones and endorphins that help your body fight illnesses and diseases. Plus it is good exercise.

7. Attitude
Your attitude is possibly the most important factor to reducing your death risk ranking and to improving the quality of your life. A Mayo Clinic study in 2002 concluded that optimistic people decreased their risk of an early death by 50% compared to their pessimistic counterparts. Thinking positive improves your mood, helps reduce stress and improves your life.

8. Be Social and Have Fun
Laughing and having a good time with friends is another key way to improving your life expectancy. By being social, you will lower your stress and have a better attitude on life. When you spend time with your friends and others, your mental outlook on life will improve. This will in turn decrease risk factors such as high blood pressure.

9. Be Calm, Stress Free
Well okay that may not be possible, but reducing your stress has been in the majority of the tips above. Stress plays havoc with your body and increases your risk for heart disease, high blood pressure and obesity. It is important to include some fun in your life frequently. Schedule breaks from your regular routine often even if they are only short breaks.

Additional health care-related reading:
FOX News: Death Calculator Predicts Your Odds of Kicking the Bucket
Personal Money Store: Death Risk Rankings | Are You Dead Yet?
San Francisco Chronicle: France’s Cautionary Tale
Right Pundits: France’s Disastrous Universal Healthcare
Bruce Kesler, Maggie’s Farm: Top Ten Reasons For ObamaCare Are Based On False Information
Telegraph: ‘Cruel and neglectful’ care of one million NHS patients exposed
The Great White Hunter: Obamacare Gives Health Bureaucrats Access to Your Tax Records
Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion: Rush Was Right: Dems Call For “The Kennedy Memorial Health Bill” and Throw Out The Democratic Health Care Sponge
The Foundry: Imposing Costly Regulation Is Not Real Reform
FactReal: TOWN HALLS: PROTESTS AGAINST OBAMACARE – August 2009 (videos, facts)
Just Americans Making Ethical Statements Weblog: Blue Dog Dems and Others to Contact; Scheduled Town Halls
Hot Air: Dems’ new rallying cry: Let’s pass this trillion-dollar travesty for Teddy and Coming up: circumcision campaigns
A Time For Choosing: Sarah Palin Continues To Help Shine The Light On Obama’s Corruption
Ann Coulter, Townhall: Liberal Lies in National Health Care: Second in a Series
Fort Peck Journal, Health Care Reform: IHS “horror” stories
Arlenearmy’s Blog: Will Doctors Bail Out?
VotingFemale Speaks!: ObamaCare = ObamaSnoop; Socialist Backdoor to everything you hold PRIVATE! and Obama-Pelosi Declare WAR; Demonizing Health Industry; Warning, Socialist Demons At Work
Frugal Café Blog Zone: More Socialized Medicine Horror: Giving Birth in UK Hospitals Hazardous to New Mothers – Shortage of Beds, Thousands Give Birth in Bathrooms, Corridors and “War on Senior Citizens”: Mark Levin Interviews Dr. Betsy McCaughey on ObamaCare Details and Dems’ Sheep-herding Health Welfare Program Like Eastern Bloc: Reckless Disregard for Economic & Fiscal Reality
WSJ Blog, Washington Wire: Kennedy’s Death Spurs Calls to Pass Health Legislation

Categories: Health, Social and Political Climate, Technology
Tags: death, death risk, death risk ranking, death risk ranking calculator, Europe, health care, quality of life, statistics, United States, University of Carnegie Mellon