People begin to worry about their lifestyle habits at the age of 39

You are never too old to make positive lifestyle changes. Stopping smoking, exercising more, losing weight, eating better, etc. are often things we think about doing, but never quite get around to them.
However, the results of new research indicate that Brits will typically wait until just before they reach the big ’4-0′ before experiencing a ‘health wake-up call’ and making these lifestyle improvements.

It seems at the age of 39 is when we start to fret about all the bad dietary and lifestyle habits we have had over the previous few decades, and what implications these may have for our long-term health.
The worry is so severe amongst people around this age that three quarters actually go to drastic lengths to try and turn things around and make big lifestyle alterations such as giving up cigarettes, starting to exercise more, eat more fruit and vegetables, or even quit their job.

The new study quizzed 2,000 adults aged 25 and over about their lifestyle habits and discovered that a whopping 85% are starting to be concerned about the impact to their health that their current lifestyle will have.

Over half of the participants commented that they are starting to eat more fruit and vegetables, with 45% adopting a more balanced diet than they have in the past, whilst 49% have begun to do more exercise.

Other popular lifestyle changes were reducing alcohol intake, starting to take health or vitamin supplements, and cutting back on the amount of fried food or takeaways eaten.

The biggest motivation for kick-starting positive lifestyle changes seemed to be ‘starting to feel old’, and 16% had suffered a minor health scare which had prompted them to change for the better.
A milestone birthday had encouraged an additional 15% of respondents to worry about their health, whilst one in ten decided to make changes following a friend or family member suffering an illness as a result of a lifestyle choice.

Professor Alf Lindberg, Science Director and brains behind the ‘tomato pill’ Ateronon, commented: “I have spent a lifetime dedicated to preventing and curing diseases. But it never ceases to amaze me how easily people are prepared to throw away their good health by abusing their bodies with poor diet, booze and lack of exercise. This survey is yet more evidence of that – it seems that people leave it until they reach the age of 39 before they start to take their health seriously. Research shows us that the more you look after yourself in your early years, the more likely you are to live a longer and healthier life.”

Top ten lifestyle changes

1.     Eat more fruit and vegetables.
2.     Do more exercise.
3.     Have a more balanced diet.
4.     Eat less fried food/takeaways.
5.     Cut back on alcohol.
6.     Take vitamin/health supplements.
7.     Learn to relax/take time out.
8.     Give up smoking.
9.     Cut down on the number of cigarettes.
10.    Stop drinking alcohol.

Top ten wake-up calls

1.     Starting to feel old.
2.     A minor health scare.
3.     Reaching a milestone birthday.
4.     A serious health scare.
5.     A friend falling ill due to their lifestyle.
6.     The death of a friend or relative.
7.     Being told off by a doctor.
8.     Watching something on TV.
9.     Reading an article in a newspaper.
10.    Research on the internet.

A healthy lifestyle could reduce high blood pressure as effectively as drugs

Whilst we all know that exercising regularly, keeping our weight down, drinking in moderation and eating plenty of vegetables can affect our blood pressure, new research suggests that it can reduce the risk of developing high blood pressure, by two thirds.

The impact of these measures on high blood pressure was much higher than expected, and in some cases could even be just as effective a way to treat sufferers as prescribing drugs. Just walking to work and restricting alcohol to two drinks a day can reduce the risk markedly, according to the study of more than 20,000 people.

Every day there are 350 preventable strokes or heart attacks in the UK caused by high blood pressure. In developed countries the lifetime risk of developing high blood pressure is now 90 per cent, and six million Britons take drugs to control it.

People with hypertension (the medical term for high blood pressure) are already routinely advised to make the lifestyle changes highlighted in the study, but the effect far surpassed expectations. The Finnish study followed 9,637 men and 11,430 women aged 25 to 74, who did not have hypertension.

Their adherence to healthy lifestyle factors was recorded, which included alcohol consumption of less than 50g per week (roughly six units), exercise at least three times per week, daily consumption of vegetables, and normal weight. During a follow-up period covering an average of 16 years, 709 of the men and 890 of the women developed hypertension.

Proffesor Pekka Jousilahti, ofFinland’s National Institute for Health and Welfare said: “The risk of hypertension was only one third among those having all four healthy lifestyle factors, compared with those having none. Even having one to three healthy lifestyle factors reduced the risk of hypertension remarkably.

For example, having two healthy lifestyle factors reduced the risk of hypertension by nearly 50 per cent in men, and by more than 30 per cent in women. Alcohol consumption, physical activity, daily consumption of vegetables and keeping normal weight are the four lifestyle factors that seem to have a remarkable effect on the development of hypertension.

Professor Jousilahti went on to add “people should drink a maximum of one to two drinks of alcohol a day and that even a relatively low amount of exercise was enough to make a difference.”  This was backed up by Professor Gareth Beevers, a trustee of the Blood Pressure Association UK charity, who said: “This study shows a big effect from simple changes in lifestyle. It’s surprising and more than you would expect.”

Professor Jousilahti concluded by saying: “that although participants were healthy at the start of the study, it was likely the findings would also help those who already have high blood pressure. Patients could reduce their blood pressure by modifying the four lifestyle factors alone, or by making these modifications while taking blood pressure-lowering medication.”