If you don’t do anything else, at least do these four things…

January 8th, 2008

We all know what to do, now it has been shown to work.  To get an extra 14 years of life - 14 more years to enjoy your family, friends, vacations, grandkids, birthdays and more; it’s simple. 

• Don’t smoke
• Eat lots of fruits and vegetables
• Exercise regularly
• Drink alcohol in moderation

Seems easy enough, right? 

Healthy Lifestyle Study 

After tracking more than 20,000 people aged 45 - 79 years in the UK from about 1993 to 2006, the University of Cambridge and colleagues found that people who adopted these four healthy habits lived an average of 14 years longer than those who didn’t.  This study was published Monday in the Public Library of Science Medicine journal.

We have all been told many times the benefits of making healthy changes to our daily lifestyle, but this study should help convince people that improving their health is easy.  Kay-Tee Khaw, a researcher in the study says, “We didn’t ask these people to do anything exceptional.  We measured normal behaviors that were entirely feasible within people’s normal, everyday lives.”

 Just 1 Change in Your Lifestyle Can Help

Because the study observed people rather than testing specific changes, it is important to understand it would be impossible to think that one who suddenly adopts these changes would automatically gain 14 years.  Keep in mind, even by making just one or two of these lifestyle changes creates an added benefit.  This is always better than nothing!

So lets try to toss those cigarettes and beer bottles and actually use our gym memberships we have been paying for each month to create new healthy habits for many years to come!

Source: Time Magazine

Entry Filed under: Healthy Lifestyle Research, Weight Loss, Fitness and Health, Making Choices