If ever there was some incentive to start living a healthier lifestyle ladies, this is it. Some new research has shown that people who live (relatively) healthy lives can live for an extra five years.
The research, which was carried out by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, studied 2,000 slightly-older individuals and quizzed them on various areas of their life. Scientists discovered that long-term healthy living can add five years to a woman’s life and six years to a man’s.
Researchers recorded data based on what the study participants told them about their age, sex, occupation, education, lifestyle behaviours, social networks and leisure activities.
During the much later follow up period to the research, 92 per cent of the participants had died and half of this number lived longer than 90 years.
The people who lived for an extra five/six years were more likely to be women who were highly educated, with healthy lifestyles and good social networks around them.
Exercise is one of the essentials for adding a few extra years to your life.
Exercise was strongly associated with the people who lived longer, and many of these people swam, walked or went to the gym on a regular basis.
“These associations between leisure activity, not smoking and increased survival still existed in those aged 75 years or more, with women’s lives prolonged by five years and men’s by six years,” said Debora Rizzuto, who led the research.
So there you go women, a relatively saintly diet, a bit of exercise and a good chat with the girls every now and then and you could see your lifespan get that little bit longer.
