Food does integral part of an individual’s health. Obesity, cancers, cardiovascular illnesses, diabetes…a poor diet can contribute to several health problems.
According to the authors of this new norwegian study published in Plos Medicine in February 2022, the dietary factors cause 11 million deaths worldwide. It is for this reason that they decided to look into how diet affects our longevity. “Our initial idea was to study how changes in parameters of our diet can affect health and have effects that combine with each other,” explains Lars Thore Fadnes, one of the authors of the study.
For this study, researchers looked at data from the Global Burden of Disease Study, data from thousands of participants from 204 countries.
The scientists wanted to analyze what happens to the organism and to the lifespan of a person going from a “Standard Western Diet”, with processed foods, a healthier diet emphasizing whole foodssimilar to mediterranean diet.
Longevity: a healthy diet increases it
The results showed that the feed had good impact on our health and our longevity. The lifetime gained can go up to thirteen years depending on the age and sex of the person. In effect, the earlier a healthy diet is adopted, the longer the life expectancy will be.
For example, if a young woman in her twenties decides to opt for a healthier diet, it can gain up to ten years of life. The male sex benefits even more from its benefits. A twenty-year-old man who follows an “optimal” diet could gain up to thirteen years according to the study.
If life expectancy is better when the dietary change is taken earlier, the results are still present at an advanced age. A person who changes his diet around 60 years old can gain eight to nine years of life. An individual changing his diet at age 80 will gain three years.
The study also recommends a tool available for free online, the Food4HealthyLife calculator. This application allows to measure the impact of each food, and to adapt it to one’s own organism. As the study is quite general, it is important to take into account the advice, while adapting them to your own body.
Life expectancy: what eating habits to adopt?
Know that beyond your diet, your physical activity can also increase your life expectancy. According to a recent study published in the journal Lancet Public Health on March 1, 2022, adults aged 60 and over see the risk of premature death stabilize at around 6,000-8,000 steps per day, which means that a higher number of steps does not bring any additional benefit in terms of longevity. For adults under 60, they saw the risk of premature death stabilize at around 8,000 to 10,000 steps per day. According to the meta-analysis of 15 studies involving 50,000 people, among the three most active groups, which walked between 5,800 and 10,900 steps per day on average, the risk of death was 40 to 53% lower compared to the group of who took fewer steps. walk every day helps you live longer.
Find below the main eating habits to adopt in order to have a healthy diet and to gain in longevity according to research.