Tracking 450,000 people found that people with these 5 lifestyles live longer!

Not long ago, scholars from Peking University analyzed 11.1 years of follow-up data from 451,233 Chinese adults and found that five healthy lifestyles were associated with a longer disease-free life expectancy among Chinese people.

Specifically, compared with people who have only one of the following healthy lifestyles, men with these five healthy lifestyles have an additional 6.3 years of disease-free life expectancy and women have an additional 4.2 years.

These 5 healthy lifestyles are not smoking, not drinking excessively, being physically active, having a healthy diet and having a healthy body fat level.

Not smoking

Numerous medical studies have confirmed that smoking can lead to a variety of diseases including lung cancer, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and emphysema.

When smoking, the human body's blood vessels are prone to spasm, the blood supply to local organs is reduced, the supply of nutrients and oxygen is reduced, especially the respiratory mucosa is deprived of oxygen and nutrients, and the ability to resist disease also decreases.

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Smoking can also cause various malignant tumors such as lung cancer. Smoking can destroy the body's entire immune system. Second-hand smoke and third-hand smoke can also harm the body.

Quitting smoking can reduce your risk of heart disease and improve your overall health, and any time you quit, there are health benefits.

Don't drink too much

In the study, moderate drinking meant <30 grams of pure alcohol for men and <15 grams of pure alcohol for women.

The most direct impact of drinking is liver damage . When alcohol enters the body, it needs to be metabolized by the liver. In this process, it not only interferes with the normal metabolism of nutrients in the body, but also affects the liver's detoxification function. At the same time, alcohol also has a direct toxic effect on the liver and can induce various liver diseases, including liver cancer.

Not only that, drinking alcohol also increases the risk of esophageal cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer and other cancers.

In addition, drinking alcohol increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, and drinking large amounts of alcohol may lead to alcohol poisoning, which can cause death in severe cases.

China's dietary guidelines recommend that adults should not drink more than 15 grams of alcohol a day, which is equivalent to 450 ml of beer, 150 ml of wine, 50 ml of 38-proof liquor, and 30 ml of 50-proof liquor.

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Active exercise

The study showed that overall activity levels ranked in the top 50% of people in the same age group and gender.

Moderate exercise can maintain good health and reduce the incidence of many cancers.

WHO recommends that adults should engage in at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise or at least 75 to 150 minutes of high-intensity aerobic exercise per week, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and high-intensity exercise.

The Chinese Dietary Guidelines 2022 recommends that people should engage in moderate-intensity physical activity for at least 5 days a week, totaling more than 150 minutes; active physical activity should ideally be 6,000 steps per day. This amount of exercise can be completed in one go or in 2-3 sessions.

Healthy eating habits

In the study, good eating habits refer to daily intake of fresh vegetables and fruits, intake of red meat 1 to 6 days a week, intake of soy products ≥ 4 days a week, and intake of aquatic products at least one day a week.

1. Fruits and vegetables contain three treasures: vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber. For vegetables and fruits, eat at least 4 kinds a day and 10 kinds a week. In terms of quantity, eat 200-350 grams of fruit and 300-500 grams of vegetables (raw weight) a day.

2. Red meat is rich in high-quality protein, iron and B vitamins. Generally, an adult can eat 300 to 500 grams (raw weight) of livestock and poultry meat per week. Poultry meat can be the main meat and livestock meat as the supplement. Eat less fatty meat, smoked and pickled meat products.

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3. Soy products are rich in high-quality protein. It is recommended to eat soy products equivalent to 25 grams or more of soybeans every day.

4. Fish is a good source of high-quality protein, minerals and unsaturated fatty acids. It is recommended to eat 280-525 grams (raw weight) of fish per week.

In addition, you should ensure you drink 1500~1700 ml of water and 300~500 grams of liquid milk every day.

Healthy body fat levels

Body fat percentage recommendations for men: young men ≤20%, middle-aged men ≤25%, and elderly men ≤30%;

Recommended body fat percentage for women: ≤30% for young and middle-aged people, ≤35% for the elderly.

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In addition, body weight can reflect the overall nutritional and health status of the human body and is the simplest, most direct and reliable indicator in nutritional assessment.

Body Mass Index (BMI) = Weight (kg) ÷ Height squared (㎡)

Normal value: 18.5≤BMI<24.0;

Overweight 24.0≤BMI<28.0;

Obesity (BMI ≥ 28.0);

Being underweight (BMI < 18.5).

In terms of waist and hip circumference, it is recommended that the waist circumference of adult women should be ≤80 cm and that of men should be ≤85 cm; the recommended waist-to-hip ratio is: ≤0.85 for women and ≤0.9 for men and elderly women.

Planning and production

Source: Eat three meals a day

Author: Yu Kang, Professor and Director of Clinical Nutrition Department, Union Hospital

Editor: Yinuo

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