Benefits of Healthy Lifestyle

By Dr. Nelly Stoyanova

Study results show that healthy lifestyle can delay death. This statement definitely caught my attention- here is why:



Smoking, exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke, excessive alcohol consumption, and high amount of belly fat have been linked individually to premature death, but little is known about the cumulative impact of these unhealthy factors beyond that of active smoking and alcohol consumption on mortality.

In order to address this question, the researchers from Vanderbilt University Medical Centre analyzed data from 71,243 non-smoking, non-drinking Chinese women aged 40 to 70 years. The women have been participating in a population-based Shanghai Women's Health Study for 9 years.

During the study period, 2,860 deaths were reported (1,351 cancer deaths and 775 deaths from cardiovascular disease). To assess the results the experts needed to calculate "healthy lifestyle scores". They selected five factors like normal weight, lower waist-hip ratio, exercise participation, never exposed to spouse's smoking, and higher fruit and vegetable daily intake.

The results show that a higher score was significantly associated with reduced risk of mortality from all causes. Participants with 4 to 5 factors had 43% lower risk of all-cause mortality compared to those with a score of zero.

The study results also show that the reduction in mortality is stronger for deaths due to cardiovascular problems.

"The results show that overall lifestyle modification, to include a combination of these health-related lifestyle factors, is important in disease prevention," said Wei Zheng, director of the Vanderbilt Epidemiology Centre, who led the research. "We already know that smoking and excessive alcohol drinking have significant adverse health effects. But for the many people who do not smoke or drink alcohol regularly, these other lifestyle factors may have major combined impact on mortality," concludes Zheng.

Based on this study results following a lifestyle that includes normal weight, regular physical activity, limiting exposure to secondhand cigarette smoke and use of higher amounts of fruits and vegetables it is obvious that there are benefits of healthy lifestyle.

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Copyright Dr. Nelly Stoyanova

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Author's bio: Dr. Nelly Stoyanova is a physician, medical researcher and health behavior expert. She studies the effects of stress on heart disease, type 2 diabetes and sleep. Her website: Belly Fat, Stress and Baby Boomers (http://www.stress-fat-heart-solutions-for-boomers.com) evaluates sources of stress for people over 50 and provides great tips to balance your day-to-day stress and stay healthy. Turn your life around and benefit from her expertise. For individual guidance sessions or to schedule a public speaking event use the Contact page or email at drnstoyanova@gmail.com

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