Healthy living 'can add 14 years', despite weight or income

Taking exercise, not drinking too much alcohol, eating enough fruit and vegetables and not smoking can add up to 14 years to your life, a study says.
 
Research involving 20,000 people over a decade found those who failed on all criteria were four times more likely to have died than those who succeeded.
 
The findings held true regardless of how overweight or poor they were.
 
The Public Library of Science Medicine study suggests many could increase their lifespan through simple changes.
 
The research was carried out by the University of Cambridge and the Medical Research Council in the English county of Norfolk between 1993 and 2006.
 
Participants were aged between 45 and 79. They were socially mixed although overwhelmingly white, and as far as they were aware at the time, did not have cancer or any heart problems.
 
A point was awarded for each of the following: not currently smoking, consuming between one and 14 units of alcohol per week (the equivalent of between half a glass and seven glasses of wine), eating five servings of fruit and vegetables each day and not being inactive.
 
This last category was defined as either having a sedentary occupation and taking half an hour of exercise a day, or simply having a non-sedentary job like a nurse or plumber.
 
Not only did the team find that those with four points were significantly less likely to have died over the period than those with none, they also found that a 60-year-old person with a score of zero had the same risk of dying as a 74-year-old with the full four points.
 
"We've know that individually, measures such as not smoking and exercising can have an impact upon longevity, but this is the first time we have looked at them altogether," said Professor Kay-Tee Khaw, who led the research.
 
"And we also found that social class and BMI - body mass index - really did not have a role to play.
 
"It means a large proportion of the population really could feel health benefits through moderate changes."