Researchers have developed a formula to calculate your chances of surviving the next decade.

The researches at the Mayo Clinic revealed that a simple jog on the treadmill could predict how long you're going to live for another ten years.

They came up with an algorithm called the FIT Treadmill Score after putting 58,020 adults aged 18 to 96 through stress tests. All the participants chosen were free from heart disease.

The participants underwent standard exercise stress tests between January 1991 and May 2009 for evaluation of chest pain, shortness of breath, fainting, or dizziness.

Participants were made to exercise on a treadmill at increasing speed and incline. The researchers measured their peak heart rate (MPHR) and their ability to withstand physical exertion while they were exercising.

Then they measured metabolic equivalents, or METs, which determines how much energy the body expends during exercise. The more intense the exercise, the higher the METs.

Once all the data was collected, statistical models were used to identify the test variables most predictive of survival. It was found that

They found that, among people of the same age and gender, fitness level was the single most powerful predictor of death and survival. This accounted for other important variables such conditions as diabetes and a family history of premature death.

The researchers came up with the formula: FIT Treadmill Score = %MPHR + 12 (METS) - 4 (age) + 43 (if female). Scores ranged from negative 200 to positive 200, with those above 0 having lower mortality risk and those in the negative range facing highest risk of dying.

In the scores ranged from negative 200 to positive 200, the more positive the score, the lower your mortality risk in the next 10 years.

Patients with scores from 0 to 100 had a 3% chance of death in the next decade, while patients scoring 100 to 200 had a 2%chance. Patients between 0 and negative 100 had an 11% chance of dying in the next 10 years, while those in the negative 100 and below range had a 38% chance of death. The study results have been released in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.