Live to 90 by changing your lifestyle 5 ways

A healthy lifestyle during the early elderly years – including weight management, exercising regularly and not smoking – may increase your chances of living to age 90, as well as enjoying good health and physical function along the way, according to a report in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine. While the benefit exists for both sexes, it is especially true for men.
 
Studies of twins have found that about one quarter of the difference in human life span can be attributed to genetics, according to background information in the journal article. That leaves about 75% that could be influenced by modifying certain risk factors.
 
Dr Laurel B Yates, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and colleagues studied a group of 2,357 men who were participants in the physician’s health study.

A total of 970 men (41%) lived to age 90 or older. Several controllable biological and behavioural factors were associated with survival to this exceptional age.

“Smoking, diabetes, obesity and hypertension significantly reduced the likelihood of a 90-year life span, while regular vigorous exercise substantially improved it,” the authors write.

 “Furthermore, men with a life span of 90 or more years also had better physical function, mental wellbeing, and self-perceived health in late life compared with men who died at a younger age. Adverse factors associated with reduced longevity – smoking, obesity and sedentary lifestyle – also were significantly associated with poorer functional status in elderly years.”
 
The researchers estimated that a 70-year-old man who did not smoke and had normal blood pressure and weight, no diabetes and exercised two to four times per week had a 54% chance of living to age 90. However, if he had adverse factors, his likelihood of living to age 90 was reduced to the following amounts:

* Sedentary lifestyle, 44%
* Hypertension (high blood pressure), 36%
* Obesity, 26%
* Smoking, 22%
* Having a total of three factors, such as sedentary lifestyle, obesity and diabetes, 14%
* Having all five factors, 4%

“Although the impact of certain midlife mortality [death] risks in elderly years is controversial, our study suggests that many remain important, at least among men,” the authors wrote. “Thus, our results suggest that healthy lifestyle and risk management should be continued in elderly years to reduce mortality and disability.”