Key To Long Life

A study has shown that men who exercise, are the right weight and do not smoke during retirement increase their chances of living for another 25 years, reported The Daily Telegraph. The Guardian also covered the story and said the chances of reaching 90 were surprisingly dependent on behaviour from age 70 onwards.

Both newspapers gave a list of adverse factors and their estimated effect on the odds of a 70 year old man reaching 90. These included high blood pressure, lack of exercise, smoking, obesity, diabetes, and a sedentary lifestyle.

This study adds to the body of knowledge on what contributes to exceptional longevity in this age group: that smoking is bad and exercise and a healthy weight are good. However, the study did not look at all the factors that can affect lifespan. Also, the study was carried out in mainly white, middle class men in the US so the findings may not apply to all 70 year olds.

What were the results of the study?

The researchers found that of the 2,357 men aged around 70 when they enrolled in the study, 970 (41%) men survived to age 90.

Those men who did not have high blood pressure, were not sedentary, did not smoke, and were not obese or diabetic at the start of the study had a 54% chance of living to 90 years old.

Men who smoked at the start of the study had only a 25% chance of living to 90 years old. Having a combination of different adverse effects at enrolment reduced the probability of survival even further, e.g. someone who was sedentary, with high blood pressure and diabetes had a 19% chance of surviving to 90 years old, while someone with all five risk factors had only a 4% chance of still being alive 20 years later.

This was a large study and there were other relevant findings: smoking or being overweight was associated with worse physical ability, while moderate, vigorous exercise was associated with better physical ability. Not surprisingly, the men who lived to 90 or older were less likely to have cancer, heart disease, or other diseases associated with high mortality.