(HealthDay News) Americans who smoke, have high blood pressure, high blood sugar and are overweight may be shortening their life expectancy by an average of four years, a new study finds.
In fact, men may be shortening their lives by 4.9 years while women could be shaving 4.1 years off their lives, the researchers say. However, there is even greater variance in the effects of these factors on life expectancy across the United States based on geography, race and income.
“These risk factors are cutting life expectancy for any average American,” said lead researcher Majid Ezzati, an associate professor of international health at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.
“That number is actually quite larger in some groups than others,” he said. “It is getting to six or seven years for some of the disadvantaged groups.”
The message: Not smoking, maintaining a healthy body weight, keeping blood pressure down and keeping blood sugar levels low will help people live longer. This will not only save a lot of lives, but benefit the most disadvantaged the most, Ezzati added.
The report is published in the March edition of the online journal PLoS Medicine.
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Is that all? 4.9 years?? Doesn’t sound very motivating. I would like to hear that cutting smoking, eating right & exercising will add 20 years to my life!!!
Does seem a little short…..I have read figures like ten….which is not bad. You can do a lot with ten healthy years. But then again Tempus Fugit!