Four simple lifestyle measures - not taking up smoking, keeping slim, eating a healthy diet and regular exercise - together reduce the risk of deadly chronic diseases by up to 78%, a study has shown.
Four simple lifestyle measures - not taking up smoking, keeping slim, eating a healthy diet and regular exercise - together reduce the risk of deadly chronic diseases by up to 78%, a study has shown.
Researchers based the finding on results from a major public health investigation involving more than 23,500 adults aged 35 to 65.
They concluded the three chronic conditions that claim the most lives, heart disease, cancer and diabetes, can largely be prevented by healthy living.
Participants answered questions about diet, smoking, exercise, weight and height, social background and state of health.
Researchers looked at what extent four specific lifestyle factors were relevant to the volunteers. These were never having smoked, not being obese, exercising for at least three-and-a-half hours a week, and eating a healthy diet high in fruits and vegetables while limiting meat consumption.
Most of those taking part adhered to one to three of these lifestyle measures. Fewer than 4% had zero healthy factors and 9% had all four.
After an average of 7.8 years, 3.7% developed diabetes, 0.9% suffered a heart attack, 0.8% had a stroke, and 3.8% were diagnosed with cancer.
The scientists found individuals who had all four healthy lifestyle factors at the beginning of the study were at 78% lower risk of developing any of the chronic diseases than those who had none.
Having all four was associated with a 93% reduced risk of diabetes, an 81% reduced risk of heart attack, a 50% cut in stroke risk, and a 36% reduction in the risk of cancer.
The largest protective factor was having a Body Mass Index (BMI) lower than 30. BMI relates weight and height for clinical definitions of normal weight and obesity.
The next largest risk reduction was never smoking, followed by physical exercise and eating a healthy diet.
The research, from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, appears today in the journal Archives Of Internal Medicine.
