Never too late to take up a healthy lifestyle

The ABC Health Report has advised that there is scope to improving health status, by ending unhealthy lifestyles.

A recent study of nearly 16,000 adults aged between 45 and 64 looked at changing unhealthy lifestyles.  

It focused on four key healthy habits: eating five or more fruits and vegetables every day, not smoking, exercising (at least walking) for two and a half hours or more a week, and keeping within the healthy weight range.

At the study’s start, only 8% of people managed to do all four of these things.  But six years later, the figure had doubled.

Over time, more and more of the group decided off their own bat it was worth changing their ways.

Picking up all four behaviours gave people in the study a 35% to 40% drop in their risk of heart disease and death.

Within just four years, they had caught up with people who had been health conscious all along.  And the improvement was regardless of whether or not there were pre-existing problems, like high blood pressure or cholesterol.

The more healthy habits you can adopt, the more you should benefit. But the research suggests if you can manage all four, you will maximise the gains.