Adopting healthier lifestyle can halve risk of early death for women

Women could halve their risk of premature death by stopping smoking, taking regular exercise, eating a healthy diet, and maintaining a healthy weight, say researchers from Harvard School of Public Health.

Results of the 24-year-long study of 77,782 nurses found that that 55% of deaths from all causes, 44% of cancer deaths, and 72% of cardiovascular deaths could have been avoided if participants had never smoked, had taken regular exercise, had avoided becoming overweight, and had eaten a healthy diet. Nearly a third (28%) of the 8,882 deaths that occurred during the study were attributed to smoking, and more than half (55%) were attributed to a combination of all four factors.

Drinking excess alcohol (more than two units each day) was found to increase the risk of dying from cancer. On the other hand, light-to-moderate drinkers (one unit or less each day) were found to be less likely to die from cardiovascular disease than teetotallers.

"Our findings suggest that the combination of lifestyle factors has a substantially larger impact on survival than any single factor. Clearly, avoiding smoking is of major importance for health, but regular physical activity, a healthy diet and weight management can result in large additional health benefits. Even modest lifestyle changes such as 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity (e.g., brisk walking) per day significantly reduced risk of premature death," said study leader Rob van Dam in a press release issued by Harvard School of Public Health.

van Dam RM, Li T, Spiegelman D, Franco OH, Hu FB. Combined impact of lifestyle factors on mortality: prospective cohort study in US women. BMJ 2008;337:a1440.

News release: Following a Combination of Healthy Lifestyle Factors May Sharply Reduce Risk of Premature Death. Harvard School of Public Health website. September 16th 2008.