We’re always hearing about things we should be doing to live longer, but a new study finds there are really five pretty simple things we should all be concentrating on in order to extend our life span. Research out of Harvard finds that folks who simply
eat a healthy diet
control their weight
partake in regular exercise
drink in moderation
don’t smoke
can add more than a decade to their lives.
The researchers gave a questionnaire and looked at medical records of 123,000 volunteers and found that men and women at age 50 who followed all of these healthy habits, saw their life expectancy rise 12 and 14 years, respectively.
What’s more, over the 30 years of the study, both men and women who followed such a healthy lifestyle were 82% less likely to die of heart disease and 65% less likely to die of cancer. And while this may sound simple, most of us aren’t exactly living it. In fact, the study finds that only 8% of the population follows all five healthy habits, which is an indicator that American’s poor lifestyle is the major reason lives are cut short.