Dr Bollmann, Skin Care Specialist, Anti-Aging Expert
Four lifestyle choices that can add years to your life. The four main risk factors for non-communicable diseases are: tobacco smoking, an unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and harmful alcohol consumption.
Researchers have translated the consequences of an unhealthy lifestyle into numbers. An individual who smokes, drinks a lot, is physically inactive and has an unhealthy diet has 2.5 fold higher mortality risk in epidemiological terms than an individual who looks after his/her health.
The study authors conclude that: “The combined impact of four behavioural [non-communicable disease] risk factors on survival probability was comparable in size to a 10-year age difference.”
Some additional findings:
Northwestern University (Illinois, USA) researchers report that when adults in their 30s and 40s decide to quit unhealthy habits that are harmful to their heart and embrace healthy lifestyle changes, they can control and potentially even reverse the natural progression of coronary artery disease.
Reduce disability: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine team correlates poor lifestyle choices to increased risks of arthritis and difficulties walking.
Slash Alzheimer’s Disease risk: University of California, San Francisco team reports that: “around a third of Alzheimer's diseases cases worldwide might be attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors.
Reduce stroke risk: German Cancer Research Centre(Germany) scientists submit that about 38% of stroke cases may be preventable through adherence to a healthy lifestyle profile.
Combat cardiovascular and cancer risks: A study by a separate team from Northwestern University found that those who maintained goals for six or seven of the cardiovascular health metrics had a 51% lower risk of incident cancer, as compared with those meeting no goals.
Lengthen telomeres: University of California, San Francisco researchers find that, among men with localized, early-stage prostate cancer, lifestyle changes resulted in a significant increase in telomere length of approximately 10%. The more participants changed their behavior by adhering to the recommended lifestyle program, the more dramatic were their improvements in telomere length. (A shortened telomere correlates to a decrease in longevity).
I recommend you look at the lifestyle pyramid at http://www.worldhealth.net/images/tip-sheet/anti-aging-pyramid.jpg.
