Bad health habits can come back to bite you – and good ones can keep help you live longer. Research already shows that diet and physical activity positively impact longevity –and now a new study shows three health habits may reduce the risk of disability once you reach your senior years. In terms of longevity, an interesting study published in Preventive Medicine followed almost 7,000 Californians. This study found that seven health habits were linked with longevity. Based on the results of this research, researchers believe doing seven things increases your chance of being around longer:
- Start the day with a healthy breakfast
- Get between seven and eight hours of sleep a night
- Don’t smoke
- Take part in regular physical exercise (You knew that was coming)
- Drink no more than two alcoholic drinks at a time
- Don’t eat between meals
- Maintain a normal body weight
What about disability – your chance of being healthy and mobile when you’re over the age of 65 rather than confined to a wheelchair or disabled in some way? A more recent study looked at health habits and how they alter the risk of disability later in life.
In this study, researchers in France analyzed the lifestyle habits of 3,982 men and women over the age of 65. After questioning the participants about their diet, physical activity, and other lifestyle habits, they followed them for 12 years. At the end of the study, they measured their level of disability. The results? They found that participants who practiced three lifestyle habits had a significantly lower risk of becoming disabled.
What were these habits? Watch your diet. Those who ate vegetables and fruits less often than once a day had almost a 1.3 times greater risk of disability. Participants who smoked or had recently quit also had a 1.3 times greater chance of being disabled compared to non-smokers. The habit that offered the most protection, not surprisingly, was exercise. Those who had low or moderate levels of physical activity had a 1.76 higher risk of becoming disabled over the course of the study. This was true even after they adjusted for factors that might have influenced the results.
Here’s the real kicker. Bad habits add up. In this study, participants that practiced all three unhealthy habits – lack of physical exercise, smoking and low fruit and veggie consumption had a 2.5 times greater risk of disability.
Physical Activity and the Risk of Disability Later in Life
This is one of the few studies to look at the impact a healthy lifestyle has on disability. After all, it’s one thing to live a long time but it might not be worth it if you can’t get around to enjoy it. The good news is you have control over these factors. You can choose to exercise or be sedentary and what foods you put on the breakfast, lunch and dinner table.
Unfortunately, not everyone stays physically active as they get older and lack of exercise was the most important risk factor for disability in this study. So compelling is the evidence that physical activity reduces the risk of disability, the National Institute on Aging is getting in on the action. It strongly encourages people over age 65 to increase their level of physical exercise to stay functional. It’s a perfect example of “use or lose it.”
Staying physically active with age has other benefits. It helps to reduce the loss of muscle mass that occurs with age, a condition called sarcopenia. Sarcopenia is a major contributor to falls that can lead to hip fractures and disability. That’s why strength training is so important throughout life. Even people who do have a disability can benefit from some form of physical exercise to improve muscle strength and endurance. It also helps to prevent bone loss, another cause of fractures and disability in older people.
The Bottom Line?
When you exercise and eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and avoid bad habits like smoking, it not only has longevity benefits but may prevent disability too. One more reason to eat right and move more.
References:
Preventive Medicine, volume 1, August, 1972, pages 409-421.
Medscape.com. “Unhealthy Behaviors Linked to Disability Later in Life”
National Institute on Aging.
Arch Intern Med. 2001 Oct 22;161(19):2309-16.
