- Study looked at how many older adults ate their greens, didn't smoke, limited their alcohol and stayed active
- Those who engaged in all four behaviours had triple the chance of enjoying a healthy old age compared to those who did none
The old adage that life begins at 40 is true - as long as you quit smoking, don't drink too much alcohol, eat fruit and vegetables and work out, a study has revealed.
Researchers were looking at what impact certain good habits could have on achieving a healthy old age over a 16-year period.
This was defined as someone aged 60 or over who had good mobility and mental health and didn't suffer from any chronic diseases.
Stay active: Successful agers didn't smoke or drink too much and performed 'moderate' physical activity
A study of more than 5,000 people aged from 42 to 63 revealed individual behaviours such as staying active, had a small benefit.
However, study leader Dr Siverine Sabia, from the University College London, added: 'Our study shows the cumulative impact of healthy behaviours on successful ageing - the greater the number of healthy behaviours, the greater the benefit.'
Those who were active, ate their greens, didn't smoke and limited their alcohol had the best chance of enjoying a sprightly old age. Participants who engaged in all four behaviours had more than triple the chance of enjoying a healthy old age compared with those who engaged in none.
The British and French study looked at the records of 5,100 men and women who did not have cancer, heart disease or stroke in the assessment phase during 1991-1994. Those still alive were then re-assessed in 2007-2009. Of the total participants, 549 had died during follow-up, 953 were classified as successfully ageing while the remaining people aged normally.
Successful agers were more likely to have a higher education than the normally ageing group - 32 per cent against 24 per cent - and 18 per cent in the deceased group.
In the study population, five per cent of people did not engage in any of the four healthy behaviours.
Dr Sabia said: 'Although individual healthy behaviours are moderately associated with successful ageing, their combined impact is quite substantial.
'Multiple healthy behaviours appear to increase the chance of reaching old age disease-free and fully functional in an additive manner.'
The study is published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
It follows research that suggests that blood transfusions from young adults could help the elderly turn back time.
Scientists from Stanford University found giving ageing mice blood from much younger animals rejuvenated connections between brain cells and improved memory.
The treatment was so effective that 18-month-old animals did as well in memory tests as those of only four months. Mice usually live to between 18 months and two years.
If the treatment is shown to be safe and as successful in humans, it could be used to stave off the ravages of old age.
Those in middle-age could be given regular jabs of blood donated by 20-somethings, a conference heard. Diseases such as Alzheimer's could also be held at bay.
Researcher Saul Villeda told the Society for Neuroscience's annual conference in New Orleans: 'Do I think that giving young blood could have an effect on a human? I'm thinking more and more that it might.
'It's not a drug that will have deleterious effects. It's just blood. We do it all the time for blood transfusions.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article
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