- Micromort – Acute risks, such as riding a motorbike or going skydiving, may result in an accident – a natural unit for comparing such risks is the Micromort, which is a 1-in-a-million chance of sudden death, for some defined activity.
- Microlives – However many risks we take don’t kill you straight away: think of all the lifestyle frailties we get warned about, such as smoking, drinking, eating badly, not exercising and so on. A microlife is 30 minutes of your life expectancy; based on starting at 35 years of age we have about 500,000 hours left.
Activity | #Micromorts/day/event |
-How to calculate- | i.e. 5 = (1 in 200,000) |
6-miles-motorbike (48 miles equals one skydive) | 1 (1 in a million) |
17-miles-walking | 1 |
10-miles-bicycle | 1 |
230-miles-car | 1 |
6000-miles-train | 1 |
12000-miles-comm-jet | 1 |
All-Cause-day | 24 |
Scuba-diving-certified | 5 |
Skiing | .7 |
Skydiving | 8 |
Running marathon | 7 |
Base jump | 430 |
Mountaineering | 2840 |
Mountaineering-Everest | 37932 (1 in 26) |
Hang-gliding | 8 |
Giving birth | 120 |
Lightning Strike-USA | 3.5/yr (1 in 280,000) |
Dangerous Occupation | Odds of death per year |
Lumberjacking | 137 in 100,000 |
Commercial Fisherman | 99 in 100,000 |
Aircraft pilots | 48 in 100,000 |
Roofers | 45 in 100,000 |
Police Officer | 14 in 100,000 |
Risk factor | Men | Women |
---|---|---|
Smoking | ||
Smoking 15–24 cigarettes (die 10 yrs earlier than non-smokers avg) | −10 | −9 |
Alcohol intake | ||
First drink (of 10 g alcohol) | 1 | 1 |
Each subsequent drink (up to 6) | −½ | −1 |
Obesity | ||
Per 5 units above body mass index of 22.5 each day | −3 | −3 |
Per 5 kg above optimum weight for average height each day | −1 | −1 |
Sedentary behaviour | ||
2 hours watching television | −1 | −1 |
Diet | ||
Red meat, 1 portion (85 g, 3 oz) | −1 | −1 |
Fruit and vegetable intake, =5 servings (blood vitamin C >50 nmol/L) | 4 | 3 |
Coffee intake | ||
2-3 cups | 1 | 1 |
Physical activity | ||
First 20 minutes of moderate exercise | 2 | 2 |
Subsequent 40 minutes of moderate exercise | 1 | ½ |
Statins | ||
Taking a statin | 1 | 1 |
Air pollution | ||
Per day living in Mexico City v London | −½ | −½ |
Geography | ||
Per day being a resident of Russia v Sweden | −21 | −9 |
Calerie Restriction | ||
15% CR (adds appx 5 years to lifespan) | 5 | 5 |