Researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina report that even people who only start eating well and exercising regularly when they hit middle age can reduce their risk of suffering cardiovascular problems and early death.
The report published in the American Journal of Medicine claims that exercising for at least two and a half hours per week, maintaining a healthy weight, consuming at least five fruits and vegetables daily and not smoking can decrease the risk of heart trouble by 35 per cent and the risk of death by 40 per cent, compared to those with less healthy lifestyles. Data was collected from 15,792 men and women aged 45 to 64 who participated in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study.
Dr Dana King, lead study researcher, said; ‘We call this the turning-back-the-clock study. We want to emphasise that it’s not too late to change, and the benefits of a healthy lifestyle don’t accrue only to people who have been doing this all along, but you can make changes in your 50s and 60s and have a healthier longer life because of it’.
The study was carried out to see if there was a stage of life at which adopting healthier habits ceased to reap actual health rewards; ‘We found that it’s not too late’ King said, ‘The benefits were dramatic and immediate, even at age 65. Some people in middle age don’t change, because they think the damage is done. In fact, in this study, the chances of dying or having a heart attack were reduced by a third after just four years of living a healthy lifestyle’.
