Yet Another Reason to Start Eating Healthy

It's not without reason that we are told time and again to switch to a healthy lifestyle for the sake of our health. Doing so can prevent you from various illnesses as well as keep you young and active. According to a study done by Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, people who do not smoke, consume alcohol moderately and maintain a healthy weight may live up to seven years longer than the general population, and spend most of these extra years in good health. The study, published in the journal Health Affairs, showed that people who refrain from engaging in risky health behaviours have a longer life than the famously long-lived Japanese.Researchers analysed data for more than 14,000 individuals and found that never-smokers who were not obese lived 4-5 years longer than the general population, and that these extra years were free of disability. "Improvements in medical technology are often thought to be the gatekeeper to healthier, longer life. We showed that a healthy lifestyle, which costs nothing, is enough to enable individuals to enjoy a very long and healthy life," said Mikko Myrskyla, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Germany.


"A moderately healthy lifestyle is enough to get the benefits. Avoiding becoming obese, not smoking, and consuming alcohol moderately is not an unrealistic goal," Myrskyla said.