Lifestyle: Live 17 years longer
All content is checked by medical journalists.MunichSmoking, drinking and carrying a paunch in front of you - that's not healthy. Everyone knows that by now. But researchers have now calculated exactly how risky such a lifestyle really is.
"People often feel indications of a healthy lifestyle as a" raised index finger "", says study leader Prof. Rudolf Kaaks from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ). This does not motivate most of them to renounce their beloved vices. "That is why it is important that we clearly quantify what each individual can gain in terms of lifetime if they give up unhealthy habits at an early stage," says the scientist.
Toxic smoke
The greatest lifetime wins if you do without glow sticks. Smoking seems to be by far the most harmful to the human body. Kaaks' team in Heidelberg has found that men who consumed more than ten cigarettes a day lose an average of 9.4 years of life, women 7.3. Lower tobacco consumption also cost both sexes years of life - around five. Obviously, cigarettes are not called coffin nails for nothing.
Meat, alcohol and obesity
Obesity is ranked in place of two of the most unhealthy lifestyle factors. It robbed both men and women of more than three years of life. Obese people with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 plus have a significantly higher risk of early death than lean people. But too little body fat can be fatal: A BMI below 22.5kg / m2 means a life expectancy that is 3.5 years shorter for men and 2.1 for women.
Even those who drink a lot of alcohol reduce their chances of a long life. With more than four drinks a day, men reduced their life expectancy by 3.1 years. The influence of alcohol could not be calculated for women because too few participants drank so much alcohol.
On the other hand, the consumption of red meat has a greater impact on women than on men. Lots of red meat took them 2.4 years, while men only lost 1.4 years. For some, a good piece of steak is still worth a year or two.
Dangerous combination
Particularly worrying: Many people indulge not just one vice, but several at the same time. They sacrifice seven to ten years to cigarettes, around three to greasy food, another three to alcohol and about two steaks & Co. That adds up: an obese smoker who drinks a lot and eats red meat has a life expectancy that is up to 17 years shorter . By comparison, women lost up to 13.9 years to their everyday sins.
Statistically speaking, the longest live non-smokers with a BMI between 22.5 and 24.9, who drink little alcohol, are physically active, have little red meat and eat a lot of fruit and vegetables. Anyone who lives like this today, 40 and male, can expect to be 87.5 years old. Those who live like this, 40 and female, have a life expectancy of a proud 88.7 years.
As part of the large pan-European EPIC study on the relationship between diet, lifestyle factors and cancer, the researchers evaluated data from over 22,000 participants from the Heidelberg area. At the beginning of the survey more than 20 years ago, they did not suffer from diabetes, cancer or cardiovascular diseases. (vv)
Source: K. Li, A. Hüsing, R. Kaaks. Lifestyle risk factors and residual life expectancy at age 40: a German cohort study. BMC Medicine 2014, 12:59 doi: 10.1186 / 1741-7015-12-59
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