Small changes for longer a life!

A new study, by researchers at Cambridge University, has looked at the benefits of a combination of three healthy lifestyle factors, regular exercise, moderate alcohol consumption and eating 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day. The scientists studied 20,000 men and women, aged over 45, over an 11 year period. They found that smoking had a bigger impact on health, than alcohol consumption or fruit and vegetable intake. Using the results, including testing when the study began and again at the end of the 11 year period, the researchers concluded that those people with the healthiest lifestyles were likely to live 14 years longer than some of their less healthy subjects. While it comes as no surprise that healthy lifestyles lead to longer life expectancies, the researchers want to emphasise that a combination of small changes can make a big difference to a person’s health.