Healthspan: adding life to your years, not just years to your life

Life expectancy has risen over the past few decades. But living longer isn’t the same as living well. Researchers use the word “healthspan” to describe the years we live in good health. The gap between healthspan and lifespan is the number of years spent living with illness or disability.

• 12.4 years

  average time Americans spend in poor health, the widest gap of 183 countries studied.

• 9.6 years

  the global average gap, up 13% since 2000.

• 12–14

  extra years of life expectancy at age 50 linked with five healthy habits.

The growing gap

Link to this section: The growing gap

A 2024 study used World Health Organization data from 183 countries. Everywhere, lifespan grew faster than healthspan. The United States had the widest gap of all, largely because of chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes and joint problems.

The good news: habits add healthy years

Link to this section: The good news: habits add healthy years

In a study of more than 120,000 US adults followed for up to 34 years, researchers looked at five low-risk habits: not smoking, a healthy weight, at least 30 minutes a day of moderate-to-vigorous activity, moderate or no alcohol, and a healthy diet. People with all five at age 50 were expected to live about 14 more years (women) and 12 more years (men) than people with none.

Where Tortoise Time fits

Link to this section: Where Tortoise Time fits

Many of the problems that fill the healthspan gap, like weakness, slow walking, low fitness and falls, build slowly over decades. They can be measured early, while there’s still plenty of room to improve. That’s the whole idea behind the assessments on this site.

This article is for general education and is not medical advice for any individual.