Healthy living
Exercise and fitness
Men: do you want to live to 90?
Change your lifestyle in simple ways for a longer, healthier old age
Men who take steps to lead a healthy lives as they reach their 70s are more likely to reach the grand old age of 90, according to a large-scale study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine
US scientists have found that older men who cut out smoking, keep fit and maintain a healthy weight have a significantly greater chance of enjoying another 20 years of healthier life. And it is never too late to start trying.
Researchers from Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston followed 2,357 men around 72 years of age for about 25 years. At the start of the study the volunteers provided information on their health and lifestyle including weight, blood pressure and cholesterol levels as well as whether they smoked and how much exercise they took. At regular intervals throughout the trial the participants completed questionnaires about changes in habits, health and the way this affected their daily lives.
The team found that a healthy 70-year-old man of normal weight who did not smoke and regularly exercised had more than a 50 percent chance of living to 90. However if he had any bad habits the chances of him reaching the milestone fell dramatically. For example, if he didn’t exercise this was cut to 44 percent and if he smoked this fell further to just 22 percent.
‘Smoking, diabetes, obesity and hypertension significantly reduced the likelihood of a 90-year life span, while regular vigorous exercise substantially improved it,’ said the team. ‘Our results suggest that healthy lifestyle and risk management should be continued in elderly years to reduce mortality and disability.’
This latest study underlines previous research showing that long life is not simply down to genes. In fact, when scientists have compared the life spans of identical twins, they have found that longevity is primarily down to the way we live our lives. Genes account for about 25 percent of the variation in life span and the remaining 75 percent is down to ‘modifiable’ risk factors – that is things like smoking and exercise that we can change.
‘This study suggests that if a man aged 70 meets all of the following criteria: smokes, is overweight, has high blood pressure, diabetes and lives a sedentary lifestyle, their chance of reaching 90 is virtually zero,’ says Ellen Mason, cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation. ‘It just goes to show, it is never too late to give up smoking and be more active in order to get fit and lose weight.’
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Information on this site is for interest only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. You should consult your own doctor about any specific health concerns.