New European research shows that for older people that risk of death can be cut by 60 % through the single and combined effect of :
a Mediterranean diet,
being physically active,
moderate alcohol use
nonsmoking.
The data published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that following these four basic health measures results in 50% lower rate of all-causes and cause-specific mortality.
The demographic pattern of Europe is changing. Increases in life expectancy mean that the leading causes of death have shifted dramatically from infectious diseases to noncommunicable diseases and from younger to older individuals. In industrialized countries, about 75% of deaths in persons older than the age of 65 are now from cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
The researchers from Wageningen University in the Netherlands followed more than 1,500 elderly people aged 70 to 90 from 11 European countries over a decade. They investigated the single and combined effects on life expectancy of four factors previously shown to have positive effects on health.
