According to a latest medical finding, people who drink moderately, exercise, quit smoking and eat five servings of fruit and vegetables each day live on average 14 years longer than people who adopt none of these behaviours. Human life span can be related to a variety of factors. In a recent study conducted by British researchers, it has been found that those who drink moderately, exercise, quit smoking and eat five servings of fruit and vegetables each day tend to have healthier and longer lives. This involved questioning and studying 20,000 healthy British men and women about their lifestyles for a period of 4 years. The researchers also tested every participant's blood to measure vitamin C intake, an indicator of how much fruit and vegetables people ate. They assigned the participants – aged between 45 and79 - a score between 0 and 4, giving one point for each of the healthy behaviours. After considering age and other factors affecting life span, it was found that that people with a score of 0 were 4 times as likely to have died, particularly from cardiovascular disease. After tracking deaths among participants till the year 2006, it was found that a person with a health score of 0 had the same risk of dying as someone with a health score of 4 who was 14 years older. Quitting smoking was found to be leading to 80 percent improvement in health. And this was followed by eating fruits and vegetables. Thus, by making these 4 simple changes in lifestyle, people can ensure a healthier and longer life.
PloS Medicine,
January 2008