5 Healthy Lifestyle Habits to Follow So You Can Live Longer

Kathryn Adel May 29, 2018 Eat Well, Health

It is well known that the adoption of healthy lifestyle habits can prevent chronic diseases, improve health and increase life expectancy. In fact, one study in the United States found that 61% of premature deaths, 52% of cancer deaths and 72% of cardiovascular deaths could be attributed to poor lifestyle habits. If you knew that you were going to live at least 12 years longer by adopting five healthy behaviors, would that encourage you to change your lifestyle?

A large-scale study conducted by a research team at Harvard University tracked 123,219 American participants over a 34-year period to estimate the impact of lifestyle on life expectancy and risk of premature death. The results revealed that implementing the following five healthy behaviors significantly reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease, as well as cancer, and prolonged life expectancy by 14 years for women and 12 years for men:

• Be a non-smoker
• Not be obese or overweight
• Consume alcohol in moderation 
• Do 30 minutes or more of moderate to high intensity physical activity daily
• Maintain a good quality diet

More specifically, the researchers noted that people who did not adopt the five healthy behaviors mentioned above could expect to live on average up to 79 years old for women and 76 years old for men. However, individuals who did adopt the five healthy lifestyle habits could expect to live up to 93 years old for women and 88 years old for men, all while maintianing their health. This is a significant difference, so what are you waiting for to take action? If adopting all five of the healthy lifestyle habits seems too difficult, know that even changing one of the five behaviors mentioned above can make a difference. Why not start by improving your diet? Sign up for one of our simple, varied, and balanced menus right now.

Reference

• Li et coll. (2018) The impact of healthy lifestyle factors on life expectancies in the US population. Circulation; https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.117.032047

Author

Kathryn Adel

Kathryn holds a Bachelor Degree in Nutrition as well as a Bachelor and a Master Degree in Kinesiology, all from Laval University. She is a Registered Dietitian and active member of the Ordre professionnel des Diététistes Nutritionnistes du Québec (ODNQ) and of the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She holds the Monash University's certification for the FODMAP diet and IBS, and has considerable clinical experience in that area. She is also an accomplished athlete, having ran track and cross-country at a national level. Kathryn specializes in sports nutrition, weight loss, diabetes, as well as heart and gastrointestinal health.