In that a number of studies link unhealthy behaviors to accelerated declines in thinking and memory skills, these also can readily be remedied.  Researchers from the Hopital Paul Brousse (France) studied 5,123 men and women civil service office workers in London enrolled in the Whitehall II study.  Subjects were surveyed for health behaviors (smoking, dietary habits, daily activity) at 44 years of age, 56 years, and 61 years.   The more each of the subjects reported engaging in unhealthy behaviors, the greater the risk of cognitive deficit, namely:

• Those subjects who currently smoked
• Study participants who ate fewer than 2 servings of fruits and vegetables a day
• Men and women who did not engage in much physical activity during midlife and late-midlife

Reporting that: “The odds of poor executive function and memory were the greater the more times the participant reported unhealthy behaviors,” this study offers compelling evidence for people to embrace healthy behaviors.