Dr. Dana King and his team of researchers at the Medical
University of South Carolina have just completed a very
inspirational study. Dr. King and his team set out to find
if middle-aged adults could reap the rewards of habits like
eating whole food consisting of vegetables and walking 30
minutes a day.
The researchers reported in June 2007 that middle-aged
adults age 45 to 64 who began eating five or more fruits and
vegetables every day, exercising for at least 2 1/2 hours a
week, keeping weight down and not smoking decreased their
risk of heart disease by 35 percent and risk of death by 40
percent in the four years after they started.
"The adopters of a healthy lifestyle basically caught up.
Within four years, their mortality rate and rate of heart
attacks matched the people who had been doing these
behaviors all along," said Dr. Dana King at the Medical
University of South Carolina, who led the research. Dr. King
added "even if you have not had a healthy lifestyle
previously, it's not too late to adopt those healthy
lifestyle habits and gain almost immediate benefits."
The four key habits are eating five or more servings of
fruits and vegetables everyday, exercising for 2 ½ hours per
week, not smoking and maintaining a healthy weight. The
study participants who adopted all four healthy habits
enjoyed a sharp decline in heart disease risk and in death
from any cause.
It took all four -- having just three of the healthy habits
yielded no heart benefits and a more modest decrease in
overall risk of death. Still, said Dr. Nichola Davis at the
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, "These benefits are on
a continuum. The more of the healthy habits that you can
adapt, the better. ...These are modest changes that they're
talking about."
