Fitness & Mortality Calculator
Estimates how your fitness level affects annual mortality risk,
and expresses the difference in everyday risk units. Uses continuous
percentile norms and published hazard ratios anchored to US life tables.
See full methodology →
Fitness & mortality distribution
Shows fitness metric (purple, left axis) and annual mortality (red, right axis) across fitness percentiles.
Dashed teal line = your position.
What would changing fitness mean?
Excess annual mortality expressed in equivalent risky activities per year.
How these are calculated →
Life expectancy impact
Computed by integrating the
SSA 2022 Period Life Table
from your current age to 119, with mortality scaled by the fitness-level HR ratio.
This is a simplified model; actual life expectancy depends on many factors.
Important caveats
- Observational data only: Strong links, but not proof of causation. Reverse causality and hidden factors may exist.
- Population averages: Hazard ratios reflect group trends. Your personal risk may differ.
- Fitness as a health proxy: VO₂ max and grip strength indicate fitness but don’t capture everything.
- Indirect VO₂ max mapping: Mortality risk comes from estimated fitness (treadmill tests), not direct gas analysis.
- Linearity assumption: Risk is modeled as a constant per fitness unit.
- Constant hazard assumption:Life expectancy assumes that the proportional mortality benefit of your current fitness percentile remains constant over your lifetime.
Full methodology, derivation, and references →