Lower Risk, Longer Life
Submitted by: Jen Brandt, M.Ed., Office of Recreation and Wellness

Everyone assumes that if you keep your cholesterol and blood pressure low and don't smoke, you'll reduce your risk of disease and you'll live longer. But that assumption has remained largely theoretical, with little solid supporting research - until now.

A team led by researchers from Northwestern University analyzed the combined results of two long-term studies, involving some 370,000 adults, almost all of them men. Participants were considered low risk if they didn't smoke and had normal cholesterol levels, normal blood pressure, and no diabetes or heart problems. Low-risk individuals had sharply reduced death rates from heart disease, stroke, and cancer. Overall, the researchers estimated that those people may live up to nearly 10 years longer than others.

Don't despair if you don't fit the low-risk profile. Reducing blood pressure and cholesterol and quitting smoking can reduce death rates - even in older adults who've had unhealthy habits or elevated readings for years.

Source: Consumer Reports on Health, September 2001