Table of contents:
Video: Scientists Calculate How Many Years Of Health Added By Various Lifestyle Factors
Scientists Calculate How Many Years of Health Added by Various Lifestyle Factors
Physical activity, normal weight, smoking cessation, and moderate alcohol consumption can have amazing health effects. Researchers have calculated how long these healthy lifestyle factors can postpone chronic illness.
CC0 Public Domain
Nowadays, few have doubts that physical activity, a healthy weight, smoking cessation and moderation in alcohol consumption help to maintain health. In a new study, scientists were able to calculate how many years of healthy life different attributes of a healthy lifestyle can add. The study is published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Scientists have observed more than 115 thousand people between the ages of 40 and 75 for about 13 years. The authors collected information on how the study participants matched the listed factors of a healthy lifestyle. They rated their adherence to each of them on a scale from 0 to 2. For example, a healthy body mass index (up to 25) corresponded to 2 points, obesity (an index over 30) - 0. Thus, the maximum number of points that can be scored was 8.
Scientists determined that the higher people had a score on the scale they developed, the longer they lived without chronic diseases. Compared to those with a score of 0 on the "healthy lifestyle" scale, people with a score of 8 were strikingly healthier: for men it was associated with an additional 9.9 years of life without serious illnesses, for women - 9.4.
The researchers created 16 “lifestyle profiles” that reflected varying degrees of fit for the four lifestyle factors studied. It turned out that the four profiles that corresponded to the largest number of years without serious illness included normal weight (body mass index under 25) and at least two of the other three factors.
However, the authors note that even following a completely healthy lifestyle does not provide a 100% guarantee of longevity. At the same time, they are confident that their new data will significantly help to understand all the advantages of a healthy lifestyle.
