Five easy steps to living long and well

Manoj Jain

Reaching the age of 90 and being in good health may be easier than we think, according to a new study in the Archives of Internal Medicine. It’s well known that our genetic makeup influences our life span, but until now it was unclear what modifiable behavioural factors such as diet and exercise could increase our longevity.

Nearly a quarter century ago, a team of specialists led by Dr Laurel B Yates, a geriatric specialist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, enrolled 2,300 men whose average age was 72 for a study. Each year, the researchers conducted a detailed lifestyle survey of the men. When the men near-ed their 90s, the researchers found five factors that helped the men live longer. I call them the five easy steps to living long and well.

First, we must not smoke. Unfortunately, one in three men in India smoke. It’s the most detrimental factor to longevity. In the study, only 25% of men who were smokers lived to the age of 90.

Second, avoid diabetes by controlling its risk factors, such as excess body weight or low activity level. In India, an estimated 20 million individuals are affected by diabetes and the number is likely to triple in 20 years. Diabetes had the second most detrimental effect on longevity, with only 28% of diabetics living to the age of 90, according to the study.

Third, avoid obesity. In India, among upper and middle class men, rates of obesity range 10-30%. Of the obese elderly men in the study group, only one in three lived to the age of 90.

Fourth, control high BP. An estimated 15-20% of Indian adults suffer from it. About 42% of the men with hypertension lived to the age 90.

Lastly, avoid a sedentary life, which means exercising more than 2-4 times a week. Nearly 60% of Indian men in metros don’t exercise. About 44% of the men who had a sedentary lifestyle lived to the age of 90 in the study.

Individually, the effect of each of these factors may be small but when put together, they lead to a very early death. If longevity is in our genes, that is our good karma, but there is also much that we can do in our lifestyle to live long and healthy lives. Ageing is a given, but if we can walk through this phase of our lives without the excess baggage of smoking, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, high BP, and diabetes, then growing old will not seem like a burden to you as well as your family.

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