Health Tips

How often in society have we vowed to watch our diet, drink less or exercise? A change occurred in the 1960′s and 1970′s on how we view our health practices. Along with questioning the authority of social norms, we began to lose faith in traditional medicine to cure our ills. We shifted into a faith in ourselves. Exercising, eating right and taking care of our body became the keys to winning the race with disease and death. What evidence supports our new found faith?

Facts:

- In 1965 the Alameda study in California was the only study to focus on how lifestyle generally affects disease and death.

- The county was questioned about their illnesses, health conditions and mental health.

- The sample was followed up in 1974 and again in 1983.

- Seven health behaviors were researched (physically active, not smoking, maintaining normal weight, not drinking to excess, sleeping 8hrs a night, eat breakfast, and not snacking).

- All seven of these factors if followed contributed to healthier lives and lower mortality (death) rates.

- These behaviors increased the chances of living free from disabling chronic disease.

- Men who joined the study at age 60 and were followed to age 82 had an increase of approximately 7 years in life expectancy to those men who did not follow a healthy lifestyle.

- The motto that “Its never too late” was encouraging in this study. Adults ranging from the age 50 to 70 who changed lifestyles by quitting smoking and began exercising increased their odds of living a longer life.

- Another factor to increasing longevity was social networking i.e. contacts with friends, relatives, marital status correlated to longer lives.

- People who were the most socially isolated had a mortality (death) rate more than twice as high as those who were most involved.