It's not surprising to find that states whose residents smoke less, exercise more, maintain healthful weights, eat less red meat and floss have longer life spans.

So says geriatrician Thomas Perls, who developed the Longevity Calculator for eons.com, a Web site for people 50 and older.

In a state-by-state look at the health habits of 450,000 baby boomers 50 and older who took the survey on eons.com, those living in Hawai'i not only have the benefit of sun, sea and climate, but exhibit the most healthful habits of their peer group.

In West Virginia, respondents reported the most unhealthful habits, thus shorter estimated life spans, Perls says.

A penchant for red meat, little exercise, smoking, too little sleep and too much work (and don't forget the lack of flossing) can take its toll. In West Virginia, the life span for people age 50 and older is about 89.52 years, compared with Hawai'i's 91.98 years. (Arizona comes in at 91.39 years.)

Hawai'i residents in that age group exercise and floss more, eat less red meat and drink less coffee than those age 50 and older in other states.

In addition, Hawai'i had more nonsmokers among the 50-plus group than their counterparts in the other 49 states.

"You can't add unhealthy years to your life, you can only add healthy years," Perls says. "Adding unhealthy years means you'll spend them with disabilities."

West Virginia, Missouri (estimated life span of 89.60 years), Louisiana (89.61), Arkansas (89.65) and Illinois (89.68) ranked at the bottom in terms of estimated life span.

"This is a critical time for baby boomers who have high blood pressure, are overweight and don't exercise but who don't yet have problems like diabetes," Perls says. "There is still time where they could reverse things before they fall off the cliff.'

Perls debunks the opinion that growing older means growing sicker. He sees boomers' interest in taking the longevity survey as an encouraging sign that they want to live the next half of their lives healthfully.

Studies show that feeling positive about aging can add up to eight years to your life span, he says.

ETHNICITY PLAYS ROLE IN YOUR LONGEVITY

Longevity for any individual can be affected by many factors, including heredity, environment and habits. While the eons.com tool (story, Page E1) is a predictor, actual statistics may vary.

According to the latest data from the state Department of Health's Office of Health Status Monitoring, based on 1990 death statistics, actual longevity in Hawai'i often falls along racial lines. These are the findings.

— Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Staff Writer