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 Researchers focused on five habits long linked to a lower risk of
developing or dying from variety of chronic medical problems: not
smoking, limiting alcohol, exercising, eating well, and maintaining
a healthy weight.
During more than three decades of follow-up, people who followed all
five of these habits were 74 percent less likely to die from all
causes, 82 percent less likely to die from heart disease and 65
percent less likely to die from cancer.
At age 50, women who followed all five of these healthy habits had a
life expectancy 14 years longer than women who adopted none of these
habits, the study found.
And 50-year-old men who had been following all five healthy habits
could expect to live 12 years longer than men who hadn't followed
any of them.
"Although we already know that healthy lifestyle habits can reduce
risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer,
few studies have quantified the benefits of these lifestyle factors
on prolonging life expectancy," said senior study author Dr. Frank
Hu of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.
Even though the U.S. is one of the wealthiest countries in the
world, Americans have a shorter life expectancy than people in many
other high-income countries due in part to higher rates of many
preventable diseases, researchers note in Circulation.
The study involved almost 79,000 female nurses, with data collection
starting in 1976, and more than 44,000 male health professionals,
starting in 1986. Half of the women were followed for at least 34
years and half of the men for at least 27 years.
Altogether, 42,167 people died, including 13,953 who died from
cancer and another 10,689 from cardiovascular disease.
Examined separately, each of the five individual healthy habits was
associated with a lower risk of premature death, but the effect was
biggest for people who adopted all five health habits, the study
found.
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The study wasn’t a controlled experiment designed to prove whether
or how each of these lifestyle habits might directly contribute to
longevity, or assess which individual habits might make the biggest
impact.
Nevertheless, one habit looms large.
"There is no question that avoidance of smoking is a top priority,"
Hu said by email.
"Avoidance of smoking and maintaining a healthy weight are critical
for prevention of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic
diseases," Hu added. "Eating right and exercising regularly are not
only important for maintaining a healthy weight, but also contribute
to a lower risk of chronic disease, and not drinking too much is key
to reducing risk of cancer and accidental injuries and deaths."
While it's already well known that healthy lifestyle choices can
increase life expectancy and lower the risk of chronic disease, the
study offers fresh evidence of exactly how many extra years people
can add to their lives, said Keith Diaz, a researcher at Columbia
University Medical Center in New York City who wasn’t involved in
the study.
"This is quite a substantive amount of years and compelling evidence
that, in the age of modern medicine, preventive strategies still
greatly matter and should still be a focus of patients and their
doctors," Diaz said by email.
While the study doesn’t necessarily show one lifestyle habit is
better than another, it does show that following some good habits is
better than adopting none at all, Diaz added.
"Certainly adopting all five healthy lifestyle habits is no small
feat and quite a challenge for most adults," Diaz added. "But what
this study demonstrates is that even adopting only one to two of
these habits will increase one’s life expectancy."
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2HGdijK Circulation, online April 30, 2018.
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