Living healthy till 80 can help you live up to 100

A recent study released in JAMA Network Open shows that maintaining a healthy lifestyle, even past the age of 80, can increase one's chances of living to 100.

 Chinese researchers studied 1,454 individuals who were around 100 years old and 3,768 individuals who passed away before reaching 100.

They found that individuals with the highest healthy lifestyle standards had a greater chance of reaching 100 years old as compared to those with poorer lifestyle habits- as determined by smoking habits, physical activity levels, and dietary choices.

Scientists stated that their results indicate that maintaining healthy habits in older age can lead to longer life.

Study Details

Most of the earlier studies showed that lifestyle factors played a role in increased lifespan, but most of them focused on individuals under the age of 60. Individuals aged 80 years or above were not included.

The researchers used data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, established in 1998, which is one of the biggest prospective studies focusing on individuals aged 80 years and above.

The team ranked healthy lifestyle scores on a scale of 0 to 6, wherein higher scores may suggest better health results. Researchers stated that individuals with higher scores were had more chances of living till 100 years.

Those who achieved a score between 5 and 6 had the highest longevity. A total of 276 out of 851 people from the top (5-6) category were centenarians. Individuals in the 0 to 2 score range had the shortest lifespan.

The team stated in a statement that due to significant advancements in social, economic, and medical fields, life expectancy at birth has risen significantly in recent years.

As life expectancy rises the aging population is also growing quickly, which is creating a public health challenge of promoting healthy aging and longevity, the researchers said.