Do you want to live a healthy and long life? Of course, you do, we all want to live healthily and live longer! While you won’t find any news about a groundbreaking discovery of a magic potion or fountain of youth, scientists do work hard to uncover secrets to a longer life.
There have been numerous studies that have been published on this subject and although they followed different results in people, as a group, the results point to the same conclusion – you have to change your lifestyle.
The latest study confirmed that a healthy lifestyle is a key to great health, longer life, and happiness. In fact, here are three things you should do right now in order to add seven years to your life.
Three Healthy Lifestyle Changes Made Today Can Add Years to Your Life
While it has been speculated that unhealthy behaviors can and will affect lifespan, it was unclear to what extent risky behaviors are for the most part reducing one’s health and life expectancy within the American population.
At the same time, it was unclear what improvements are achievable by correcting these unhealthy behaviors.
Even though this topic of longer living is a subject of numerous studies, this is the very first research to quantify the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and direct link to correction of three negative behaviors to seven additional years of your life.
3 lifestyle changes to make if you want to add 7 years to life expectancy are:
- Quit smoking
- Keep your weight within a healthy range
- Limit alcohol consumption
Not Just A Longer Life, But Healthy Life Too
Scientists from the University of Michigan and the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Germany discovered that making these lifestyle adjustments also allows you to have a healthier life, not just longer.
They hope these findings will serve as a wakeup call to Americans and others, who are known for their unhealthy ways of life, characterized as to have a sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy diets.
For the purpose of the study, researchers analyzed data from about 14,000 Americans aged between 50 and 89.
All the participants were surveyed about their lifestyle habits and overall health every two years. The mean (average) life expectancy for men and women was 77.7 and 81.4 years respectively.
Participants who never smoked and had BMI lower than 30 lived 4-5 years longer than that of the general population.
These added years were usually healthy ones with only a few reports of limitations in daily activities and disability.
People who consumed alcohol in moderate amounts lived 7 years longer than that of the general population.
Also, these additional years were disability-free. Moderate consumption of alcohol refers to drinking fewer than 14 drinks a week for men and 7 for ladies.
These findings benefit every individual and his/her family, but also the healthcare system itself.
Americans Have Lower Life Expectancy
Compared to citizens from similar developed, wealthier nations, Americans have lower life expectancy.
This shorter life span is attributed to living an unhealthy lifestyle which increases the risk of numerous diseases and health conditions, including cancer and diabetes.
There’s a light at the end of the tunnel! Americans who made these simple lifestyle changes during the course of the study, had a longer life expectancy[2] than the general population of Japan, a country well-known for longevity.
Conclusion
An Unhealthy lifestyle indicated by an unhealthy diet and sedentary lifestyle contribute to shorter life expectancy and poor health.
It is never too late to make adjustments to your lifestyle to live a happier and longer life.
Scientists discovered that participants who don’t smoke, keep their weight within a healthy range, and consume alcohol moderately can add up to 7 years to their life. So, What Are You Waiting For? Start today.