Health Guide

Health Depends on Lifestyle

Many erroneously believe that inherited traits (genetic factors) are the primary factors determining their quality of life and how long they will live.

 For the vast majority of us, our health is primarily dependent on two other factors: (1) what we put into our bodies, and (2) what we do with our bodies. A simple word that encapsulates both of these concepts is "lifestyle." The good news is that even though we cannot change our genetics, we can change our lifestyle. Those lifestyle choices can prevent or forestall the development of diseases for which we are genetically predisposed. Regarding the most common diseases, Dr. Lamont Murdoch of Loma Linda University School of Medicine has put it aptly: "faulty genetics loads the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger."

I have often wondered why people take better care of their cars than their bodies. I have yet to meet a person who said, "God has a plan as to when my car should ’die,’ and I do not need to worry about it. I don’t need to check or change the oil, or perform any routine maintenance. And I don’t need to worry about the type of gasoline I use." We recognize the necessity of proper care to get the longest life and best performance out of our automobiles. When will we realize that proper care also gives our bodies the longest life and best performance?

What are the root causes of death? When someone dies with a heart attack, stroke, or other fatal condition, what really caused that fatal disease at that time in a person’s life? Researchers McGinnis and Foege recently analyzed the root causes of what Americans die from and published their findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The nine leading causes of death were largely related to lifestyle choices: what we put into our bodies and what we do with our bodies. These causes are listed for the year 1990 in Figure 1: Underlying Factors that Caused Death in the U.S. (1990).1

All of the factors with asterisks are directly impacted by lifestyle. The total of these factors is about 1.25 million, which is over half of the total number of deaths in America each year. We see that the root causes of death are largely unhealthful lifestyles. As surprisingly high as this total is, it may greatly underestimate the total number of lifestyle-related deaths. Many deaths due to infectious diseases are caused by an immune system that is weakened by a poor lifestyle. Also, the researchers listed only the deaths that could be attributed to known lifestyle factors. As we continue to learn more about lifestyle and health, we likely will discover how other lifestyle choices could prevent still more deaths. Nonetheless, the figures demonstrate that the number of premature deaths in our country would be dramatically decreased if Americans would be willing to replace all of their harmful lifestyle factors with helpful ones.

There would be benefits even beyond the reduction in premature deaths. Quality of life would improve, as diseases would strike less frequently at any given age. You can help to change these statistics by joining the growing number of Americans who are focusing on healthy lifestyle choices to attain the highest quality of life and optimal longevity.

Prevention is the Key

Today, a wealth of scientific research has confirmed that most of the leading causes of death are preventable. The most common afflictions that cause death in America are listed in Figure 2: The Ten Leading Afflictions that Caused Death in the U.S. (1995).2 C. Everett Koop, M.D., Sc.D, former Surgeon General of the United States, produced the first Surgeon General’s Report on Nutrition and Health in 1988. It was based on an exhaustive review of the scientific literature. He concluded that "dietary excess and imbalance" contributed significantly to eight of the leading killer diseases in our country. Excerpts from his report are shown in Figure 3: Dietary Excess and Imbalance Cause Much Disease and Death.3

Longevity Studies Related to Lifestyle

Just what are these lifestyle factors that will help us to live a longer life? Drs. Nedra Belloc and Lester Breslow were among the first researchers to present a convincing answer. In their classic study of nearly 7000 individuals living in Alameda County, California, they found that there were seven lifestyle factors that influenced how long people lived. These factors are listed in Figure 4: Belloc & Breslow’s Seven Health Factors for Longevity.4 The number of these habits that an individual followed made a tremendous impact on their longevity. After nine years, the number of healthful lifestyle practices a person followed was directly related to the likelihood of dying. The results are depicted in Figure 5: Relation of Longevity to Health Habits.5Notice that only about 5 percent of men and women who followed all seven health habits died in the nine year period, compared to 12.3 to 20 percent who followed three habits or less.

Another way of looking at the impact of lifestyle on longevity is by considering something referred to as "health age." As an example, a 50-year-old who embraces enough healthful lifestyle factors may have the same health or physiologic age as the average 35-year-old person. We could say that this individual has a "health age" of 35. On the other hand, another 50-year-old who had no regard for a healthful lifestyle may have a much older health age, perhaps as high as 72. In other words, a person’s health age can be lower or higher than the actual chronological age, depending on the number of lifestyle factors adopted.

Health age tables have been created from the Alameda County statistics. They cover the chronological age range from 20 years to 70, and are based on the same seven health habits listed in Figure 4: Belloc & Breslow’s Seven Health Factors for Longevity. One such table is depicted in Figure 6: Health Age Related to Lifestyle Habits.6

You can use this figure as a guide to get a feel for your own health age. For example, assume that you are an average 40-year-old Alameda county resident. If you are following only two of the seven Belloc and Breslow’s health habits, your health age is 40 plus 19.4, or about 59, indicating a dramatic shortening of your life expectancy. You would have the same life expectancy as the average individual 19 years older. If you continue the same lifestyle for 10 more years, when you are 50 your health age will be 50 plus 22, or 72. At age 40, you had a 19-year health handicap, but at age 50, the handicap will even be worse by 3 years. In 10 years you will age 13 years!

On the other hand, if you, at 40, are consistently following all seven of Belloc and Breslow¡¯s health habits, your health age is only 27 (40 minus 12.9). Furthermore, at age 50 your health age will be only 35. In 10 years, you will only age 8 years! The concept of health age illustrates how much our lifestyle can either hasten or slow the aging process.

Healthy Living September Issue