Healthy living is the best life insurance

Posted on Wed, 12 Aug 09

Adopting just a couple of healthy lifestyle behaviours may reduce your risk of major chronic disease by 80%. A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine August 2009 reports that just 4 key behaviours (1) a healthy body weight, (2) not smoking, (3) eating a healthy diet and (4) regular exercise are the major determinants of whether or not you will suffer type 2 diabetes mellitus, heart attack, stroke or cancer.

The researchers followed over 23,000 adults for approximately 8 years. People who never smoked, were a healthy body weight, exercised regularly, and ate a healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low in red meat cut their risk of serious illness by 80%. Even people who practiced only one of these healthy behaviours cut their risk for illness in half.

The results of this “study show the unfulfilled potential of preventing chronic diseases. Adhering to recommendations for the 4 lifestyle factors considered in our analyses can potentially yield enormous reductions in the onset of major chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer” wrote the study authors.

Access the Archives of Internal Medicine report (free)

Reference

Ford ES et al. Healthy Living Is the Best Revenge. Findings From the European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition–Potsdam Study. Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(15):1355-1362.