Friday, May 21, 2010

Life Extending Habits

Bad habits can age you by 12 years reports that combination of four bad habits can increase the risk of death for an individual. The study evaluated the effects of smoking, alcohol, exercise and diet and determined that achieving certain threshold levels improve a person's health. The behaviors, thresholds and my experience are summarized in the table below.

Target Levels

Behavior

Healthy

Personal Experience

Smoking

Never or had quit

Never

Drinking Alcohol

Fewer than 3 glasses (men) or
2 glasses (women) per day

zero to five glasses

Exercise

More than two hours per week

two to four hours

Fruits and Vegetables

Eating 3 servings of
vegetables and fruit per day

one to five servings



It appears that I am doing just well enough in two of the four behaviors, with room for improvement in the other two. Of course, doing better is no guarantee of a longer life, but I still consider it a good idea to reduce intake of alcohol and increase the amount of fruits and vegetables to reduce health risks.

For more on Reaping the Rewards, check back every Friday for a new segment.

This is not financial advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

Copyright © 2010 Achievement Catalyst, LLC

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