New Year's Resolution

Most of you probably already know that obesity can cut your life short. But some people seem to take the attitude that life is short and uncertain anyway. I've heard people say "Why should I bother to make lifestyle changes that could add a few years to my life when I could be run over by a car tomorrow?"

The answer is simple! It's not just how long you live, it's how well you live. It's all about living a long AND healthy life!

A recent study by scientists at Harvard and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston (Sun et al, British Medical Journal, 330: b3796, 2009) addressed this issue very clearly. They followed 17,065 women who had enrolled in the Nurses Health Study in 1976 and had subsequently reached age of 70 and asked how obesity affected their health at age 70.

They were not just looking at survival. They were looking at healthy survival. They defined healthy survivors as those women who were free of chronic diseases (heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, for example) and had no cognitive, physical or mental limitations.

The results were clear cut. Women who were at ideal weight at age 18, but had gained 22 pounds or more by middle age, were 59% less likely to enjoy good health at age 70 than the women who had maintained ideal weight through middle age.
The effect of body weight on healthy survival was even more dramatic for those women who were already overweight at age 18 and gained 22 pounds or more by middle age. Their probability of enjoying good health at age 70 was 79% less than women who had maintained ideal weight through middle age.
And just in case there are guys reading this Health Tip who think this doesn't apply to you, there is a study showing that healthy survival in men is also dramatically decreased by obesity (JAMA, 296:2343-2350, 2006).
So while lifestyle changes are never easy, they are definitely worth the effort. It really is not just about how long you live, it's about how well you live.

When making your New Year's Resolution, commit yourself to making 1-2 positive healthy lifestyle changes per month.  In a year's time you will have made 12-24 positive changes.  It becomes habit and your chances of succeeding are tremendous!

To your health!!

Mary Beth Potrykus
www.mamabearproductions.net

Thank you Dr. Stephen Chaney for providing this information.