When we eliminate bad health habits of smoking, not exercising, being overweight,
drinking too much alcohol and eating an unhealthy diet, what would happen to
our life?
"We found that following a healthy lifestyle can substantially extend the years a person lives disease-free," said senior author Dr. Frank Hu, who chairs the department of nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
"In particular, women who practiced all five habits gained over 10 years of disease-free life, and men who did so gained almost eight years," Hu said.
The research followed more than 38,000 men for 28 years and 73,000 women for 34 years. It was designed to see how five healthy behaviors interacted to affect disease risk: never smoking, keeping a healthy BMI below 25, doing at least 30 minutes of physical activity each day, drinking alcohol moderately and eating a good quality diet.
The research found that women who adopted all five healthy habits at age 50 lived 14 years longer than women who did not; men who were following all five lifestyle factors at age 50 lived 12 years longer than men who followed none.
Women who practiced four or five of the healthy habits over the next 20 to 30 years, Hu said, had an additional 10.6 years of disease-free living compared to women who adopted no lifestyle changes.
When broken down by disease, the healthier women gained an average of eight years free of cancer, 10 years with no cardiovascular disease and 12 years without diabetes.
Men who practiced four to five healthy behaviors gained 7.6 years' longer life expectancy; an average of six more years without cancer, almost nine more years free of heart issues and over 10 years without diabetes.The results held true even after adjusting the data for age, ethnicity, family medical history and other potentially influential factors.
What happened if a person was diagnosed with a disease during the study? The data showed half of people diagnosed with cancer lived an additional 23 years if they adopted four of five healthy practices. Among those who didn't change, half only survived an additional 11 years. The same patterns were seen for both heart disease and diabetes.
"We found that following a healthy lifestyle can substantially extend the years a person lives disease-free," said senior author Dr. Frank Hu, who chairs the department of nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
"In particular, women who practiced all five habits gained over 10 years of disease-free life, and men who did so gained almost eight years," Hu said.
The research followed more than 38,000 men for 28 years and 73,000 women for 34 years. It was designed to see how five healthy behaviors interacted to affect disease risk: never smoking, keeping a healthy BMI below 25, doing at least 30 minutes of physical activity each day, drinking alcohol moderately and eating a good quality diet.
The research found that women who adopted all five healthy habits at age 50 lived 14 years longer than women who did not; men who were following all five lifestyle factors at age 50 lived 12 years longer than men who followed none.
Women who practiced four or five of the healthy habits over the next 20 to 30 years, Hu said, had an additional 10.6 years of disease-free living compared to women who adopted no lifestyle changes.
When broken down by disease, the healthier women gained an average of eight years free of cancer, 10 years with no cardiovascular disease and 12 years without diabetes.
Men who practiced four to five healthy behaviors gained 7.6 years' longer life expectancy; an average of six more years without cancer, almost nine more years free of heart issues and over 10 years without diabetes.The results held true even after adjusting the data for age, ethnicity, family medical history and other potentially influential factors.
What happened if a person was diagnosed with a disease during the study? The data showed half of people diagnosed with cancer lived an additional 23 years if they adopted four of five healthy practices. Among those who didn't change, half only survived an additional 11 years. The same patterns were seen for both heart disease and diabetes.
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