Start where you are

You don't need all eightto start.

The eight sort into three levels by what it costs to get the number. Level one is free and takes a day. Each level is worth about a third of the composite — and each gives you a score of its own.

Open the calculator

Free · No sign-up · Nothing to install

Level 1

Free, today

Everything here is already on a phone or a wrist, or needs nothing at all. You can finish this level before lunch.

MarkerScore · Level 1
—
Computed from 3 of 8 markers
32% of composite weight
Daily Steps
47%lowerRISK OF DYING

Your phone has been counting since you bought it. Open the health app.

Grade B

Free. No new hardware. Today.

Sleep Duration
32%higherRISK OF DYING

A watch, or just the time you went to bed and the time you got up.

Grade B

Free. One night to estimate, a week to be sure.

Resting Heart Rate
17%higherRISK OF DYING

Two fingers on your wrist and a clock, first thing, before you stand up.

Grade B

Free. Sixty seconds.

Level 2

Under $50

A cuff, a grip meter, and three honest days of writing down what you eat. One small purchase each, then they are free forever.

MarkerScore · Level 2
—
Computed from 3 of 8 markers
37% of composite weight
Blood Pressure
2xhigherHEART & STROKE DEATH

An upper-arm cuff at home, or the machine in the back of most pharmacies.

Grade B

About $40 once, or free at the pharmacy.

Grip Strength
16%higherRISK OF DYING

A hand dynamometer. Squeeze, read the number, best of three.

Grade B

About $25 once, or borrow one at any gym.

Dietary Fiber
7%lowerRISK OF DYING

Write down everything you eat for three days and add up the fiber column.

Grade B

Free, and the most tedious thing on this page.

Level 3

A lab

A blood draw and a treadmill — or a home kit and your watch's estimate, which are not the same thing and the calculator says so.

MarkerScore · Level 3
—
Computed from 2 of 8 markers
31% of composite weight
HbA1c
28%higherRISK OF DYING

A blood test. Ask for it by name at a physical, or use a mail-in kit.

Grade B

Often covered. $30–$60 if not.

VO₂ Max
14%lowerRISK OF DYING

A graded treadmill test with a mask. A running watch will estimate it, less well.

Grade B

$100–$250 for the real test. Free and rough from a watch.

What a level score is not

A level's number is a weighted average over that level's markers only — the same arithmetic as the full composite, run on fewer inputs. It is not a third of your MarkerScore, and two level scores do not add up to anything. Finishing Level 1 means you have a ranking built on 32% of the weight, not 32% of an answer.

Ready when you are

Start with level one.

Three numbers you already have, or can get before lunch. The calculator fills in the rest with estimates and tells you which ones they are.

Open the calculator

Free · No sign-up · Nothing to install