Chat Profile
for
Michael F. Roizen, M.D.
GUEST:
Michael F. Roizen, M.D.
Author of the New Book
RealAge:
Are You as Young as You Can Be?
RELATED LINKS:
RealAge: http://www.realage.com/
Buy the Book: at Amazon.com
SUBJECT:
What's Your RealAge? -- And How to Change It!
PROMO:
What's Your RealAge? -- And How to Change It!
How old are you, really? We've all heard the saying, "You're as young as you feel." Now, for the first time, there is scientific evidence that goes beyond slogans to prove that you can, indeed, control the rate at which you age. In his new book, RealAge, Dr. Michael Roizen and a team of scientists and computer programmers analyzed the mortality rates in over 25,000 medical studies to determine how our behavior affects our life span. The result is the RealAge Test -- a series of 125 questions that leads to a unique RealAge rating for each and every one of us. Oprah Winfrey took the test and learned that her RealAge is more than six years less than her chronological age. Dr. Roizen is age 53, but his RealAge is 38. If you are an "average" person, your RealAge and your chronological age are the same. But no one is "average." So join Dr. Roizen for a live chat and learn how you can determine your RealAge -- and what you can do to reduce it!
INTRODUCTION:
Our guest tonight is Dr. Michael F. Roizen, a professor of medicine and chair of the Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care at the University of Chicago's Pritzker School of Medicine. Dr. Roizen is the author of the new book, RealAge: Are You as Young as You Can Be? The book is the end result of years of pioneering research into the aging process, and it's the beginning of a revolution in life enhancement.
To create RealAge, Dr. Roizen and a team of scientists and computer programmers analyzed the mortality rates in over 25,000 medical studies. Almost every medical study contains "mortality" information -- for example, determining how many years smoking takes off your life. But until RealAge, these numbers were never collated to show the combined impact of different kinds of behavior. Dr. Roizen's RealAge converts this information into a common currency, so that you can determine the price of your lifestyle.
You can take the RealAge Test -- a series of 125 questions -- in Dr. Roizen's book or at his web site, RealAge.com. Once you determine your RealAge, Dr. Roizen provides concrete steps you can take to reduce it, along with difficulty ratings for each step. Some are surprisingly simple: good dental care can improve your RealAge by as much as six years. Others, such as reducing alcohol consumption or losing weight, can be quite difficult. With RealAge, you can choose the behaviors you want to change with a clear understanding of how they will help your health and welfare.
RealAge isn't just about *being* younger -- it's about *feeling* younger. By following the suggestions in RealAge, you can reduce your RealAge by as much as 26 years; when you turn 70, you'll *feel* just as good as the average 44-year-old. That's a difference worth investigating. And Dr. Roizen is here with us tonight to answer your questions about how to determine your RealAge and how to control it.
Welcome Dr. Roizen!
SAMPLE QUESTIONS:
- What do you mean by the term "RealAge"?
- What is your RealAge?
- How can I calculate my own RealAge?
- How valid are the numbers you assign to various behaviors and traits? How do we know the science behind them is solid?
- Here's an item I just couldn't pass up: In your book, you say that having safe sex twice a week, rather than the national average of once a week, will make your RealAge 1.6 years younger! Can you discuss the relationship between sex and longevity?
- All things being equal, which has more impact on RealAge: diet or exercise?
- Your book says that dog ownership can reduce your RealAge. What about cats and other pets?
- Your book shows a big difference in the RealAge effects on men and women of staying unmarried. For men, it's disastrous. For women, it makes no difference. Can you explain that?
- Depression is right up there with heart disease as major life-threat. What does this suggest about how we should treat depression?
- Is there a difference between the RealAge Test in the book and the one on your web site (RealAge.com)?
- Is there more to the RealAge program than the test and the book? What should we do once we know our RealAge?
Thank you, Dr. Roizen, for an exhilarating chat! I feel younger already!
