Nina Chen, Ph.D. CFLE, Human Development Specialist, Jackson County, University of Missouri Extension
Longevity appears to be more about healthy lifestyle than genes. It is 25 percent genes and 75 percent lifestyle, according to Steven Austad, author of the book Why We Age. A study from the University of Cambridge in England followed 20,000 middle-aged men and women for 11 years and found non-smokers with the healthiest eating and exercise habits lived longer than people with the worst habits. Another study at the Pacific Health Research Institute in Hawaii followed 5,820 Japanese American men for 40 years. This study found those who avoided health risk factors in midlife like smoking, being overweight, excessive drinking and high blood pressure were likely to live longer.
For the interesting list of healthy lifestyle habits, see the full version of this article at http://missourifamilies.org/
