Step Away From The Mince Pies! Over-indulging Could Lower Your Life Expectancy

You might want to limit your intake of mince pies over the festive season because according to some new research, second helpings of turkey or an extra round of drink could take hours off your life expectancy!

According to researchers from the University of Cambridge, over-indulgence can reduce your life expectancy by at least half an hour. And it doesn’t just stop once the tins of sweets have been put away after Christmas.

Smoking, having a few drinks, eating red meat and watching television at any time of the year can knock half an hour off your life’s expectancy for every day that you over indulge. However, eating in moderation, getting a bit of exercise and filling up on fruit and vegetables could help you to regain up to two hours of your life back.

Are second helpings putting your life expectancy at risk?

Researchers at the University of Cambridge wanted to communicate the impact that our behaviour can have on the length of our life.  In order to do this, Professor David Spiegelhalter came up with the concept of “microlives.”

Microlives are used to count every half hour of our life expectancy. So 1 microlife = half an hour.

Using data from population studies, Professor Spiegelhalter found that averaged over a lifetime, 1 microlife can be lost from smoking two cigarettes a day, being at least 5kgs overweight, having 2-3 alcoholic drinks a day, watching two hours of TV or eating a burger. Likewise, microlives can be gained back by eating healthily and exercising.

The findings of the study have been published in the noted British Medical Journal.