- well-designed and easy to use
- easy-to-understand results page
- doesn't ask for your e-mail address
- too many ads
- the survey didn't always format right
- not very many links for additional information
- A five-minute longevity test with straightforward questions.
- A results page that calculates how certain behaviors can add years to your life.
- A lack of follow-up links from the results page.
The recommendations he received were: exercise more to increase life expectancy by 5 more, take a daily aspirin for 2 more years of life, cut back one day of work for 2 more years of life, floss daily for 1 more year of life and several other suggestions. Most of these are pretty good suggestions, though it is not clear where the results come from. One suggestion was to cut back on coffee (entered 1-2 cups a day). This suggestion doesn't really pan out in research - some recent studies show that caffeine at this amount is good for you.
When you click on "About the Calculator" you find out that Dr. Perls' Longevity Calculator is available for licensing, but you do not find any information about the research behind (only that Dr. Perls is head of the New England Centenarian Study).
I think the most disappointing thing about this longevity calculator is the lack of links from the results page. One of the suggestions for my friend was to "lower blood pressure." That's it - just "lower blood pressure" with no links or suggestions.
Overall, this calculator is worth the 5 minutes it will take you to complete it. You do not need to give an e-mail and will not receive any messages after taking the test. The test seems comparable in accuracy, but lacks follow-up from the results page.
