Healthy lifestyle: 5 keys to a longer life - Harvard Health- How to have a healthy lifestyle
healthy lifestyle
Healthy lifestyle: 5 keys to a longer life
STAYING HEALTHY
How is it that the United States spends the most money on healthcare, and yet still has the one of the lowest life expectancies of all developed nations? (To be specific: $9,400 per capita, 79 years, and 31st.)
Maybe those of us in healthcare have been looking at it all wrong, for too long.
Healthy lifestyle and longevity
Researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health conducted a massive study of the impact of health habits on life expectancy, using data from the well-known Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS). This means that they had data on a huge number of people over a very long period of time. The NHS included over 78,000 women and followed them from 1980 to 2014. The HPFS included over 40,000 men and followed them from 1986 to 2014. This is over 120,000 participants, 34 years of data for women, and 28 years of data for men.
The researchers looked at NHS and HPFS data on diet, physical activity, body weight, smoking, and alcohol consumption that had been collected from regularly administered, validated questionnaires.
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These five areas were chosen because prior studies have shown them to have a large impact on risk of premature death. Here is how these healthy habits were defined and measured:
1. Healthy diet, which was calculated and rated based on the reported intake of healthy foods like vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, healthy fats, and omega-3 fatty acids, and unhealthy foods like red and processed meats, sugar-sweetened beverages, trans fat, and sodium.
2. Healthy physical activity level, which was measured as at least 30 minutes per day of moderate to vigorous activity daily.
3. Healthy body weight, defined as a normal body mass index (BMI), which is between 18.5 and 24.9.
4. Smoking, well, there is no healthy amount of smoking. "Healthy" here meant never having smoked.
5. Moderate alcohol intake, which was measured as between 5 and 15 grams per day for women, and 5 to 30 grams per day for men. Generally, one drink contains about 14 grams of pure alcohol. That’s 12 ounces of regular beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of distilled spirits.
Researchers also looked at data on age, ethnicity, and medication use, as well as comparison data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research.
Does a healthy lifestyle make a difference?
As it turns out, healthy habits make a big difference. According to this analysis, people who met criteria for all five habits enjoyed significantly, impressively longer lives than those who had none: 14 years for women and 12 years for men (if they had these habits at age 50). People who had none of these habits were far more likely to die prematurely from cancer or cardiovascular disease.
Study investigators also calculated life expectancy by how many of these five healthy habits people had. Just one healthy habit (and it didn’t matter which one) … just one… extended life expectancy by two years in men and women. Not surprisingly, the more healthy habits people had, the longer their lifespan. This is one of those situations where I wish I could reprint their graphs for you, because they’re so cool. (But if you’re very curious, the article is available online, and the graphs are on page 7. Check out Graph B, "Estimated life expectancy at age 50 according to the number of low-risk factors.")
This is huge. And, it confirms prior similar research — a lot of prior similar research. A 2017 study using data from the Health and Retirement Study found that people 50 and older who were normal weight, had never smoked, and drank alcohol in moderation lived on average seven years longer. A 2012 mega-analysis of 15 international studies that included over 500,000 participants found that over half of premature deaths were due to unhealthy lifestyle factors such as poor diet, inactivity, obesity, excessive alcohol intake, and smoking. And the list of supporting research goes on.
So what’s our (big) problem?
As the authors of this study point out, in the US we tend to spend outlandishly on developing fancy drugs and other treatments for diseases, rather than on trying to prevent them. This is a big problem.
Experts have suggested that the best way to help people make healthy diet and lifestyle change is at the large-scale, population level, through public health efforts and policy changes. (Kind of like motorcycle helmets and seat belt legislation…) We have made a little progress with tobacco and trans-fat legislation.
There’s a lot of pushback from big industry on that, of course. If we have guidelines and laws helping us to live healthier, big companies aren’t going to sell as much fast food, chips, and soda. And for companies hell-bent on making money at the cost of human
life, well, that makes them very angry.
Healthy Lifestyle
How to have a healthy lifestyle
When it comes to healthy eating, it surprises many people that you can eat healthily and still have really tasty food. Some people think that if you reduce fat, cut back on salt or try to lose weight you will be bored, irritable, cranky and living on dry crackers! No wonder so many people only make half an effort – if any – when it comes to healthy eating. The trouble is that most people go over the top when they want to lose weight or manage their cholesterol and end up stressed and falling back into their own ways. This is a real pity because changing what you eat to make it healthier has so many benefits. Eating healthier will reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke, but you also get the added benefit of feeling much better and feeling more energetic. All it takes is a little patience and the right information.
This section focuses on all the things you can do to eat a little healthier and be more active. The focus is on ways to reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease (including stroke and heart diseases, e.g. angina and heart attacks) but you will find lots of other benefits too – more energy, better mood and even feeling less stressed. You don’t have to put all of the advice into practice straight away. Start making some changes and when you get used to one change, then you can work on something else. Remember, there is no competition or race so if it takes you a few weeks or a couple of months to get everything in line, that’s fine, as long as you are making changes along the way.
Making A Success Of A Healthy Lifestyle
Make a list of all the reasons you want to change. This list can help you to focus on why you are making changes and will help you to keep going on a day when you might be struggling. Keep this list with you and check it from time-to-time to remind you of why you are making these changes.
Make a list of the first five changes you want to make. Then set some goals – you might want to work on your five-a-day from fruit and vegetables, try a new recipe or get more active – and decide how and when you will do this. Planning ahead will help you to make healthy choices instead of hoping everything will just fall into place by itself!
Don’t try to do everything at once.
This is the mistake most people make when they decide to eat healthier. Changing the eating habits of a lifetime takes time and a little effort. If you try to do too much at once you will struggle and probably give up. There is no prize for coming first – just set your goals, and when you have achieved them, set some more and work on those. As long as you are working on your changes, then it is fine if it takes you a couple of months to get everything in place.
Why Focus On Heart Disease & Stroke?
When asked about health issues they are worried about most people list cancer as their main concern but it is cardiovascular disease that is the number one cause of death. One of the most surprising figures about heart disease is that 80% of it is preventable through changes to your diet and lifestyle. And if you have had a heart attack or stroke, making changes to your lifestyle will help improve your health and wellbeing.
A healthier lifestyle has other benefits too. The same healthy eating advice that helps to reduce your chances of developing heart disease and stroke also reduces your risk of cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, diabetes, and osteoporosis. But the real benefit is how well you will feel. Eating unhealthy foods and not getting enough exercise can leave you feeling tired and run down – even if you are otherwise ‘well’. Increasing your fitness and swapping some unhealthy foods for healthier choices can help you to feel more energetic and in a much better mood!
We will give you tips on how to make changes for a healthier lifestyle and how to manage what you eat wherever you are.. We will also give you tips on how to get cooking if your cooking skills
The first step to a healthier lifestyle is planning and setting some realistic goals, which will help you to stay focused. Read through the tips and ideas here and start planning the changes you are going to make for a healthy heart..
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