New research has confirmed that bad habits, such as smoking, drinking, eating fatty foods, and not getting enough exercise, can cut 12 years off of your life.
A team of researchers studied 4,886 British adult men and women for two decades. They observed four different habits to find out which subjects smoked tobacco regularly, drank two (for women) or three (for men) alcoholic beverages daily, failed to complete at least two hours of physical activity weekly, and ate fewer than three combined servings of fruits and vegetables each day.
Of those who participated in the study, 314 participated in each of the bad habits. Twenty-nine percent of them (91) died during the study. Conversely, 387 individuals practiced none of the high-risk behaviors, and only eight-percent (32) of them passed away during the 20 year span. All subjects were at least 18 years of age, with 44 being the average age.
“The combined effect of poor health behaviors on mortality was substantial, indicating that modest, but sustained, improvements to diet and lifestyle could have significant public health benefits,” lead author Elisabeth Kvaavik of the University of Oslo said, according to the UK newspaper The Daily Mail.
“Developing more efficacious methods by which to promote healthy diets and lifestyles across the population should be an important priority of public health policy,” Dr. Kvaavik added.
According to Associated Press (AP) Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner, “The U.S. government generally recommends at least 4 cups of fruits or vegetables daily for adults, depending on age and activity level; and about 2 1/2 hours of exercise weekly”¦ June Stevens, a University of North Carolina public health researcher, said the results are in line with previous studies that examined the combined effects of health-related habits on longevity.”
The study was published in Monday’s edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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