Which measure describes years lived in good health?

• A. Life expectancy
• B. Healthy life expectancy
• C. Maximum lifespan
• D. Average life expectancy

Answer: (B)

This item is asking for a measure that captures the years a person can expect to live in good health, not just how long they will live overall. Life expectancy tells you the total number of years a person is expected to live, but it doesn’t account for the health quality during those years. Healthy life expectancy combines both longevity and health status to estimate how many of those years are lived without significant illness or disability. It’s sometimes called disability-free life expectancy or health-adjusted life expectancy (HALE), and it’s particularly useful for planning healthcare and social needs as populations age.

Maximum lifespan refers to the longest possible age a species can reach and doesn’t describe the typical number of healthy years lived. Average life expectancy is another way of stating the average length of life, but it still doesn’t specifically measure health quality during those years.

So the measure that describes years lived in good health is healthy life expectancy.