Measuring the Benefits of Good Lifestyle Choices
For everyday, average, healthy people, leading a good lifestyle makes a sizable difference both to your life expectancy and your chances of suffering the common age-related diseases in years to come. Refrain from smoking, regular moderate exercise, and a diet low in calories that still provides optimal nutrition - thereby avoiding the build up of visceral fat that happens on the way towards obesity - and you will gain a greater benefit than any presently available medical technology can offer.
A study of more than 100,000 men and women over 14 years finds nonsmokers who followed recommendations for cancer prevention had a lower risk of death from cancer, cardiovascular disease, and all-causes....
The participants were scored on a range from 0 to 8 points to reflect adherence to the American Cancer Society (ACS) cancer prevention guidelines regarding body mass index, physical activity, diet, and alcohol consumption, with 8 points representing adherence to all of the recommendations simultaneously.
After 14 years, men and women with high compliance scores (7, 8) had a 42% lower risk of death compared to those with low scores (0-2). Risk of cardiovascular disease death were 48% lower among men and 58% lower among women, while the risk of cancer death was 30% lower in men and 24% lower in women.
The best we can presently do for our health and longevity in this grand age of biotechnology is still exactly the same as the best was for our grandparents, and that is disappointing. There is a gaping chasm between the exciting advances and technology demonstrations taking place in laboratories and what becomes available for commercialization - or rather what the regulators grudging permit to become available for commercialization. The future will include rejuvenation biotechnology that can repair the damage of aging. That technology is clearly envisaged and understood today, but progress towards its development and deployment remains frustratingly slow.
As always, the way to change this situation lies in money and action: help out, persuade people to help out, and give your time and resources to speed matters along.