Sandy
Beach
Mrs.
Kelliher
Human
Growth and Development
June
10, 2016
The
Secret to Longevity
Many
of us are wondering, what is the secret to a long and healthy life? There are many genetic and lifestyle factors
that may contribute to living a long life.
It seems that individuals who remain active and eat healthfully live
longer. This goes hand in hand with
living a healthy and happy lifestyle, which in turn lowers risks for many
diseases. The most common cause of
death in the United States that can be changed through lifestyle are poor diet,
lack of exercise and smoking. (Nicklett) Therefore, the most important factors in human
longevity are diet and exercise,healthy lifestyle choices to prevent disease,
staying cognitively active and overall happiness and attitude about one’s life.
Studies show that being active and healthy eating
leads to a long life. One study done in
the United States looked at women in their seventies. (when was this study done?) The study wanted to find a relationship
between a high fruit and vegetable diet, regular physical activity and
mortality in these women. They found
results from seven hundred and thirteen women.
They asked the women to fill out a questionnaire regarding their
physical activity and some agreed to have blood taken to assess blood
carotenoid levels. Carotenoid levels
were used to test vegetable and fruit consumption, as this is a component of
plants. The study followed up with these
patients after five years. They found
that individuals with high carotenoid levels and higher physical activity
levels were more likely to survive in these five years. Some of the low carotinoid level and low
physical activity level individuals had a significantly higher mortality
rate. (Nicklett) This shows that
as a person ages, it is still important to exercise and eat well if she wants
to live longer and healthier.
Another study done with middle-aged healthy men as the
subjects, examined three things relating to longevity (when was study done?, Where? And by Whom?). They looked at smoking, physical fitness and
being overweight. By looking at this
variety of subjects, the study found that of non-smokers with high physical
fitness, (how do they define
“high physical fitness? Is that
exercising every day? 3 times/ day?) nearly
50 percent of them lived to be at least 85 years old. Only about 28 percent of non-smokers with low
physical fitness survived to be at least 85 years old. This shows that fitness and exercise play a
significant role in living longer. (Heir, Erikssen, Sandvik,)
Making healthy lifestyle choices can help extend the
lifespan of an individual. Being overweight or obese can lead to early
death. Overweight individuals increase
their chances of getting heart disease, some types of cancers, or diabetes to
name a few. (Patel, Hildebrand,
Gapstur, 2014) A study that took place
in the United States compared body mass index (BMI) to mortality. BMI is a chart that is used to assess whether
or not an individual is of normal weight, overweight, obese, or morbidly obese
by comparing height to weight. (Berger, 2008)
This recent study, having been published in October of 2014, analyzed
929,871 black and white men and women living across the United States. The researchers followed up with the enrolled
subjects for 28 years. The study found
that Individuals had a higher risk of mortality being overweight or obese when
compared to individuals who were of normal weight. (Patel, Hildebrand, Gapstur)
Smoking
is another lifestyle choice that can most certainly lead to illness and death
often at a younger age. A study done in
Norway took a sample of subjects aged from 35 to 49 and placed them in three
groups. The groups were never smokers,
former smokers and continuing smokers.
The researchers followed up with deaths of the participants from ages 40
to 70. They found that about “12 percent of never
smokers died within this age range and about 33.5 percent of continuing smokers
died”. This shows that there is absolutely and
increased risk of death and it is not likely that a person will live an
exceptionally long life if he/she smokes.
(Vollset,
Tverdal, Gjessing)
Through
research regarding dementia, scientists and psychologists are learning that by
keeping a brain actively engaged may help to prevent dementia, or at the very
least, delay it. Although these studies
have been largely correlation in nature, adopting practices that engage the
brain may be easier to adopt and lead to other benefits that may contribute to
a longer, happier life. As people
change, their brains change too.
Sometimes these changes make cognitive functions more difficult, yet by
leading an intellectually stimulating lifestyle, an individual can foster
cognitive vitality. Some literature
actually suggests that “cognitive
stimulation in everyday life can even be an important buffer in delaying onset
of Alzheimer's disease or slowing its progression” (Wilson, Bennett, Gilley, Beckett, Barnes, and Evans). Cognitive practices can be done by
individuals on a daily basis. Older
people do not necessarily have to sign up for a “brain” training” course, or go
to laboratories to improve their cognitive performance. Daily practices like focusing and taking the
time to remember the five things that are needed at the store rather than
writing them on a list. Going out and
learning about new places or meeting new people. Reading, doing crossword puzzle, or any
puzzles, learning a new skill are all simple examples of what people can do as
they age to keep their brains sharp.
Another
way that individuals can improve their cognition is to be social. Happiness and social interactions are related
to living a longer life. The proverb
many of us have heard “laughter is the best medicine” may actually be
true. A study done in the Netherlands
used 1,012 elderly individuals from ages 65 to 85 years old. A questionnaire was used in the study to
assess happiness, and the subjects were also interviewed. The subjects were then divided into three
groups. These groups were unhappy, happy or moderately happy. They were followed up on for 15 years. The results showed that the unhappy group
showed more cases of chronic illnesses.
The unhappy group also participated in less physical activity when
compared to the happy group. These
happier individuals also lived longer.
(Koopmans, Geleijnse, Zitman, Giltay)
Attitude
is everything when it comes to longevity.
A person’s attitude about health can impact his/her health. A study done by the Carnegie Mellon
University (2004) did a study with 193 volunteers (ages 19-55) that were given
a cold virus and at the same time surveyed about their emotional state. As the symptoms appeared, tissue from each
member was collected and the amount of mucous was measured. Those
members of the study that had positive emotions in the survey had less mucous
produced, there was a correlation between the body’s physical response and the
attitude that a person had. The
conclusion that professor Sheldon Cohen drew from his research was that those
subjects “happy, lively, calm or exhibit other
positive emotions are less likely to become ill when they are exposed to a cold
virus than those who report few of these emotions.” (Carnegie Mellon University). So, in turn, those with positive attitudes
are less vulnerable to illnesses than those with more a more negative outlook
on life. This conclusion was further
elaborate upon in a study done by Stanislav V. Kasl of Yale University in which “660 elderly people
whether they agreed that we become less useful as we age. Those who didn’t
agree, and therefore had the most positive attitude about aging, lived an
average of 7.5 years longer than those with the most negative attitudes, who
did agree that we become less useful as we age.” (Hamilton)
In conclusion,(don’t use “in conclusion”) those who maintained a healthy diet and
regular exercise lived longer. Also,
smoking and being overweight or obese inherently lessened the length of life
through illness. There is also a lot to
be said about happiness and life perspective.
Those who are happy and can accept aging as a positive part of life will
live longer than those who are unhappy.
That is why being happy, exercising and eating right, along with making
good lifestyle choices will increase your chances of living a longer life.
References
Nicklett, E. P. (2012). Fruit and Vegetable Intake, Physical
Activity, and Mortality in Older Community-Dwelling Women. Journal Of The
American Geriatrics Society, 60(5), 862-868.
Heir, T., Erikssen, J., & Sandvik, L. (2013). Life style and
longevity among initially healthy middle-aged men: prospective cohort study. BMC
Public Health, 13(1), 1-5. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-13-831
Hamilton,
Ph.D. David R. "Do Positive People Live Longer?" The Huffington Post.
TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 29 May 2016.
Patel, A. V., Hildebrand, J. S., & Gapstur, S. M. (2014).
Body Mass Index and All-Cause Mortality in a Large Prospective Cohort of White
and Black U.S. Adults. Plos ONE, 9(10), 1-14.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0109153
Berger, K. S. (2008). The Developing Person Through the Lifespan,
Seventh Edition. New York, NY: Worth
Publishers.
Vollset, S. E., Tverdal, A., & Gjessing, H. K. (2006).
Smoking and Deaths between 40 and 70 Years of Age in Women and Men. Annals
Of Internal Medicine, 144(6), 381-W72.
Koopmans, T., Geleijnse, J., Zitman, F., & Giltay, E.
(2010). Effects of Happiness on All-Cause Mortality During 15 Years of
Follow-Up: The Arnhem Elderly Study. Journal Of Happiness Studies, 11(1),
113-124. doi:10.1007/s10902-008-9127-0
Wolff, F. (2013). Well-Being of Elderly People Living in Nursing
Homes: The Benefits of Making Friends. Kyklos, 66(1), 153-171.
doi:10.1111/kykl.12015
Levy, B. R., Slade, M. D.,
Kunkel, S. R., & Kasl, S. V. (2002). Longevity increased by positive
self-perceptions of aging. Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology,
83(2), 261-270.
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