KCEN-TV, KCEN-HD, Waco, Temple, Killeen, Bryan, TexasThe Vitality Compass: Chronological Age vs. Biological Age
It's a simple test that quizzes you on everything from your eating habits and your weight... to your education and religious activities. It's called the Blue Zones Vitality Compass. It asks you a series of questions and then calculates your chronological age versus your biological age... and even you life expectancy.
We sat down with Amy Fields and Ellison Burns, both of Waco. They each took the quiz online and got pretty encouraging results.
Amy is a 41 year old wife, mother of two, part-time employee, and an avid tennis player. The quiz determined her chronological age was 35.4. Her life expectancy is a little over 95 years. It determined her blue zone years to be 13. That's the time she's added onto her life through healthy habits like exercising, being social, and eating right.
"I really thought I would be younger than my calendar age, but not that much younger," says Amy.
As for Ellison, the 62 year old grandfather, father, husband and retiree found out that his chronological age is 53. According to the quiz, he, too, could live to 95. He's also added 13 years to his "blue zone."
The quiz doesn't just focus on the good. It also pinpoints bad habits and estimates how many days you could add on to your life by turning those habits around. Ellison now plans to exercise more.
"I want to lose some weight, try to get in better shape," he says. "In the past, I worked so much, I didn't take the time to really take care of myself."
But, as so many of us know, bad habits can be hard to break.
"I am 41," says Amy Fields, "and kind of have my bad habits engrained already. So reality tells me that it would be a big struggle."
Even still, both she and Ellison are up to the challenge.
Once the computer calculated their results, it prompted them to choose 3 areas of their health that they want to work on. It then estimated how many days they could add onto their life spans by doing so. The quiz even sends them follow-up emails to check on their progress.
If you'd like to take the Blue Zones Vitality Compass quiz, log onto http://www.bluezones.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=26
