9 indicators of long life

건강하게 오래 사는 건 모든 사람의 소망입니다. 앞으로는 100세까지 사는 세상이 올 것이라고 이야기하지요. 우리세대에서 120세까지 사는 건 예삿일이 될 것이라고 예상하는 지인도 있습니다. 

모두가 아는 이야기이지만 적절한 체중을 유지하는 것, 콜레스트롤 수치를 낮추는 것, 꾸준한 운동을 통하여 체력을 유지하는 것이 중요한 건강의 비결입니다. 개인적으로 육식을 무척이나 좋아하는 편입니다. 그렇지 않아도 고기를 좋아하는 편인데 질 좋은 갈비나 닭 가슴살을 싼 값에 살 수 있으니 더 많이 먹게 되지요. 여름이면 뒤뜰에 나가 바비큐 틀에 고기를 구워 먹는 재미가 쏠쏠합니다. 이런 재미에 빠져있으니 콜레스트롤 수치가 올라가 문제가 되는 건 뒷전입니다.

그나마 과음하지 않는 것과 담배를 피우지 않는 건 다행한 일이지요. 교육수준도 장수에 영향을 미친다는 연구결과가 눈길을 끕니다.

 

<9 indicators of long life>

 Get a grip -- and a good education. Get married. Don't gain weight.

These are some of the keys to long life for boomer men, according to a US study.

In fact, nine factors in all were identified as good predictors of which 50-plus men would live healthily into their 80s and beyond, according to a 40-year study of nearly 6,000 Japanese-American men living in Hawaii. The study, published in the November issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, concluded men were more likely to remain healthy, vigorous and disability-free at older ages, if they avoided certain risk factors.

The ability to avoid these 9 major risk factors in midlife -- in particular those linked to insulin levels such as overweight, high blood sugar, high triglycerides (a type of cholesterol) and high blood pressure -- is a strong indicator of whether you will survive to old age and if you do, whether you will be healthy.

 

<9 Predictors of long life>

Men who meet the following criteria are more likely to live longer, according to the study:

- Are married

- Are not overweight

- Have low blood pressure

- Possess a strong grip (indicating overall strength and fitness)

- Have attained a high level of education

- Have low blood sugar

- Avoid heavy drinking

- Do not smoke

- Have a low level of bad cholesterol.

The study, known as the Hawaii Lifespan Study, followed the health of participants for up to 40 years to assess overall, healthy, or exceptional survival. The men in the study, who had an average age of 54 when the research began back in 1965, were given a baseline exam at the time and found to be free of illness and functional impairments.

As reported by Reuters, men who followed the healthful criteria had an 80 per cent chance of living to age 80 and were more likely to avoid illness. 42 per cent of the participants lived until 85, with 11 per cent reaching the age without serious health problems such as heart disease, cancer or diabetes.

"Your chances were more than 60 per cent of being healthy at that age if you avoided these risk factors, yet if you had six or more of these risk factors you had less than a 10 per cent chance of living in your mid-80s," said study author Dr. Bradley Wilcox of Pacific Health Research Institute in Honolulu.

This is further proof that it is important to be physically robust in midlife consistent with theories of aging that suggest that better built organisms last longer, the study concluded.

(By Cynthia Ross Cravit, 50Plus.com)