If you follow a poor diet, rarely take part in exercise, consume lots of alcohol and also smoke, then you may reduce your lifespan by as much as 23 years, according to scientists who conducted a 50-year study.
Heart disease, type 2 diabetes and stroke, which are generally seen as mostly preventable conditions, are all conditions which cut life expectancies by decades. An estimated 80 per cent of such cases could have been prevented through consuming a healthy diet, less alcohol, exercising regularly and not smoking.
A man who is in his 40s, and has all three of those health conditions, would expect to see a reduction in his life expectancy of 23 years, so rather than be likely to die at 78 years of age, he would be just 55 years old. For a woman of the same age, her life expectancy would decrease 20 years, slightly less than for the man.
Data from 1.2 million people was studied over 50 years, with 135,000 dying during the research. Information taken over the 50 years was used to estimate the effects such health conditions had on life expectancy.
Professor John Danesh, of the University of Cambridge and the British Heart Foundation, said: “Our results highlight the importance of preventing heart disease and stroke amongst patients with diabetes, and likewise averting diabetes amongst heart disease patients.”
“If you wait until you have developed one of these conditions before thinking about your wider health, you will already have reduced your life expectancy,” said Professor Jeremy Pearson, of the British Heart Foundation.
For a healthy diet, you should consume plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, drink plenty of water, and reduce your consumption of processed food and sugar. It is also important to regularly take part in exercise.
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