Living to 100 Club’s “Healthy Lifestyle Audit”
We know a lot about aging well. Each day, science shares more about healthy lifestyle practices, how to reduce the risk of dementia, the importance of staying engaged with family and friends, and how to increase our longevity. The world’s oldest old have taught us what works for them to live to 100 and beyond. Researchers are showing how our perceived “subjective age” (i.e., how old we believe our self to be) plays an important role in coping with events and how successfully we function as we age. We are also learning how our thinking patterns determine even how long we live.
There are many, many other findings to cite that will support our quality of life and how long we live. So, with this in mind, the Healthy Lifestyle Audit was created here at the Living to 100 Club to give us a snapshot of our lifestyle practices and outlook on aging. Essentially, it compares our current practices to where we want to be. The audit does not compare your findings to others. It looks for gaps between where you are and where you want to be.
Description
There are 50 items on the Audit, and each is rated from 1 (definitely disagree) to 4 (definitely agree). In one way or another, the statements have been shown to be linked to our longevity and the quality of life in our senior years. What are the areas you feel good about? What areas do you feel not so good about?
There are 2 Domains, Lifestyle Practices and Outlook. Each Domain has several sections, with anywhere from 4 to 7 questions per section. It’s best to complete the Audit on a computer, as it is a fillable PDF form. This allows for auto calculations of totals and percentages.
Upon completing the 50 items, several scores are calculated: a total Audit score, a score for each of the 2 Domains, and scores for each of the sections.
Now What
So, what do I do with these scores? The important feature of the Audit is identifying the current status of your lifestyle practices. Several steps are presented to help raise your scores, not specific articles or content links, but different dimensions to pursue and search. This search ideally will help you to be more informed, and to make more informed decisions about your future. Once you have a copy of the Audit, you can repeat it periodically to spot changes – either in a positive or negative direction.
Caveat
Please know that this audit is not intended to serve as an appraisal of current health status, health risk, or as a collection or repository of biometric data. The results do not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or recommendations. It is for your personal use, benefit, and guidance. There is a nominal cost to purchase the Audit. If there are questions about your results or about making desired changes, please contact the author, Dr. Joe Casciani: jc@livingto100.club or 858-272-3992.
Dr. Joe Casciani is the owner and Chief Curator for the Living to 100 Club, a source of solutions to living longer and healthier, with a special focus on mindset and attitudes about aging. He has a 40-year history as a psychologist and manager of mental health practices specializing in behavioral health services with older adults. In addition to his work as a clinical consultant, he is an engaging and inspiring speaker, and helps audiences move beyond their questions and concerns about aging to create a vision of what is possible in the years ahead. He strongly believes there is value in helping people feel inspired about their future.