"Live 24 Years Longer If You Follow All: 8 Habits That Extend Lifespan"

US Research Team Tracks 720,000 Veterans
Suggests 8 Healthy Lifestyle Habits
"It's Never Too Late to Develop Habits"

A study has found that people who practice eight healthy habits such as quitting smoking, controlling their diet, and engaging in active physical activity after the age of 40 can live up to 24 years longer than those who do not practice any of these habits.

On the 25th, researcher Xuan Mai T. Nguyen and her team from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition (Nutrition 2023) the results of a study involving about 700,000 veterans, showing that the earlier and more these eight healthy lifestyle habits are practiced, the greater the life extension effect.

The eight healthy lifestyle habits are as follows.

① Active physical activity

② Overcoming opioid (drug) addiction

③ Non-smoking

④ Minimizing stress

⑤ Avoiding periodic binge drinking

⑥ Good dietary habits

⑦ Good sleep hygiene

⑧ Positive social relationships

The research team analyzed mortality rates by age and gender and the hazard ratios for death from various factors based on medical records and survey data of 719,147 individuals aged 40 to 99 registered in the Million Veteran Program (MVP), a veterans research program, from 2011 to 2019.

Among the eight healthy lifestyle habits analyzed by the researchers, ① low physical activity ② opioid (drug class including morphine, fentanyl, etc.) use ③ smoking had the greatest overall impact on lifespan. These factors increased the risk of death by 35-40% during the study period.

④ Stress ⑤ Binge drinking ⑥ Poor dietary habits ⑦ Poor sleep hygiene were each found to increase the risk of death by about 20%. The increase in mortality risk due to ⑧ lack of positive social relationships was about 5%.

The study results showed that men who practiced all eight healthy lifestyle habits at age 40 had an average life expectancy 24 years longer than men who did not practice any of these habits. Women with all eight healthy lifestyle habits had an average life expectancy 21 years longer than women who did not practice any.

The life extension effect of healthy lifestyle habits was greater the earlier they were started, but there was also a significant life extension effect for those who began practicing them in their 50s or 60s.

Researcher Nguyen emphasized, "These results are from an observational study and do not prove a causal relationship between lifestyle habits and mortality." However, she explained, "They are consistent with previous research showing that lifestyle factors play an important role in preventing chronic diseases and promoting healthy aging."

She added, "These findings highlight the importance of adopting healthy lifestyle habits for both public health and individual health, and while earlier adoption is better, even small changes in your 50s or 60s can be effective," emphasizing, "It is never too late to develop healthy lifestyle habits."

She continued, "Lifestyle medicine aims to treat the root causes of chronic diseases rather than just the symptoms," and added, "This raises the possibility of changing the trend of rising healthcare costs due to prescription drugs and surgeries."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.