We often hear people yenning for a long healthy life. In an interesting study conducted by Maastricht University scientists, it has been disclosed that women with a healthy lifestyle may face 15 years extended span of living while men are touted to increase 8.5 years of their life.
Lifestyle in this study relates to 4 variables namely, smoking, physical activity, nutritional pattern and body mass. Nearly 120,000 men and women in the age-group 55 to 69 participated in the analysis. It is a part of the Netherlands Cohort Study (NLCS) where lifestyle habits of the individuals were inspected in 1986.
As Piet van den Brandt, Professor of Epidemiology at Maastricht University shared “Very few research studies worldwide have analysed the relationship between a combination of lifestyle factors and mortality in this way. This study shows that a healthy lifestyle can lead to significant health benefits. Not only did the risk of death strongly depend on the healthy lifestyle score, but the greatest reduction in premature deaths as a result of healthy lifestyles was seen in individuals with low or medium levels of education. Furthermore, the effects of a Mediterranean diet were more evident in women than in men. Within this diet, nuts, vegetables and alcohol intake had the biggest impact on lower mortality rates.â€
Precisely, factors used in this study are no smoking, being physically active for more than 30 minutes per day, conformation to a Mediterranean diet and a healthy body weight. A typical form of this diet constitutes high proportion of vegetables, fruit, legumes, nuts, fish, whole grains, monounsaturated fat, along with less meat and alcohol. The scientists have taken note of all this information and the link between lifestyle and mortality has been comprehended.
The study is published online in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.