Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health researchers used data from the well-known Nurses’ Health Investigation (NHS) and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study to undertake a major study of the impact of health practices on life expectancy (HPFS). This indicates they had data on a large number of people over a lengthy period of time. The NHS followed approximately 78,000 women from 1980 to 2014. The HPFS followed almost 40,000 males from 1986 to 2014. This represents almost 120,000 people, 34 years of data for women, and 28 years of data for men.
The researchers examined NHS and HPFS data on nutrition, physical activity, body weight, smoking, and alcohol consumption acquired through routinely provided, validated questionnaires.
What, exactly, is a healthy lifestyle?
These five areas were chosen because previous research has shown that they have a major impact on the probability of early death. Here’s how these healthy practices were defined and measured:
- A healthy diet was computed and graded based on the reported intake of good foods such as vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, healthy fats, and omega-3 fatty acids, as well as unhealthy items such as red and processed meats, sugar-sweetened beverages, trans fat, and sodium.
- A healthy physical activity level was defined as at least 30 minutes per day of moderate to strenuous activity.
- A healthy body weight is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 18.5 to 24.9.
- There is no such thing as a healthy amount of smoking. “Healthy” here meant never having smoked.
- Moderate alcohol consumption, defined as between 5 and 15 grammes per day for women and 5 to 30 grammes per day for men. In general, one drink includes roughly 14 grammes of pure alcohol. That’s 12 ounces of ordinary beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of distilled alcohol.
Read Also: Hey an Austin based lifestyle blog by Corrin Foster
Researchers also examined data on age, ethnicity, and medication use, as well as comparative data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Wide-Range Online Data for Epidemiologic Research.
Does a healthy lifestyle make a difference?
Healthy behaviors, it turns out, make a significant effect. According to this study, persons who matched the requirements for all five habits lived much longer lives than those who did not: 14 years for women and 12 years for men (if they had these habits at age 50). People who did not practice any of these habits were considerably more likely to die prematurely from cancer or cardiovascular disease.
The researchers also computed life expectancy based on how many of these five good behaviors people had. Just one healthy behavior (and it didn’t matter which one) … just one… increased men’s and women’s life expectancy by two years. Unsurprisingly, the healthier habits people had, the longer they lived. I wish I could reprint their graphs for you since they’re so cool. (However, if you’re really curious, the article is available online, and the graphs are on page 7.) Check out Graph B, “Estimated life expectancy at 50 based on the number of low-risk factors.”
So, what is our (major) issue?
As the authors of this study point out, we spend far too much money in the United States on developing fancy pharmaceuticals and other treatments for diseases rather than attempting to prevent them. This is a significant issue
According to experts, the best method to help people make good food and lifestyle changes is at the population level, through public health activities and legislative changes. (Think motorcycle helmets and seat belt laws…) We’ve made some progress on tobacco and trans-fat legislation.
Of course, big industry has a lot of opposition on that. Big firms will sell less fast food, chips, and soda if we have standards and laws to assist people live healthier lives. And companies hell-bent on making money at the expense of human life are furious.
