Researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health conducted a massive study of the impact of health habits on life expectancy, using data from the well-known Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS). This means that they had data on a huge number of people over a very long period of time.
As it turns out, healthy habits make a big difference. One of the first line of defence is to choose a healthy lifestyle. Following general good-health guidelines is the single best step you can take toward naturally keeping your immune system strong and healthy. Every part of your body, including your immune system, functions better when protected from environmental assaults and bolstered by healthy-living strategies (https://www.bangkokpost.com/life/social-and-lifestyle/1887725/beating-covid-19-risk-avoidance-better-health-and-diet).
According to this analysis, people who met criteria for all five healthy habits like healthy diet, healthy physical activity level, healthy body weight, moderate alcohol intake and non smoking enjoyed significantly, impressively longer lives than those who had none: 14 years for women and 12 years for men (if they had these habits at age 50). People who had none of these habits were far more likely to die prematurely from cancer or cardiovascular disease.
Study investigators also calculated life expectancy by how many of these five healthy habits people had. Just one healthy habit (and it didn’t matter which one) … just one… extended life expectancy by two years in men and women.
Eating healthy, regular exercise, avoiding smoking and working on mental health are also key factors in boosting the immune system which helps the body to fight against the coronavirus disease, said a researcher at New York University-Abu Dhabi (NYUAD).
Raghib Ali, director of the Public Health Research Centre at NYUAD, said obesity, diabetes, hypertension and heart diseases are very common among the UAE population and these diseases greatly increase the risks associated with Covid-19.
“It is important that people be mindful about their diet and live healthy lifestyles. People should do regular physical exercises, avoid smoking and other bad habits and work on their mental health to ensure a robust immune system that can fight diseases such as Covid-19,” said Ali during a virtual discussion on Tuesday about the NYUAD’s UAE Healthy Future Study in which researchers shared information on its new research approach and ongoing progress.
Dr Farida Al Hosani, official spokesperson for the UAE Health Sector, earlier said most of the patients who fully recovered from coronavirus in the UAE followed healthy behaviours that helped strengthen their immune system.
“In most cases of recoveries, we noticed that the patients have followed several daily health behaviours, such as doing exercise, eating a healthy diet, strengthening the immune system and maintaining an ideal weight, as well as abstaining from bad habits, such as smoking and unhealthy eating,” said Al Hosani.
This research is helpful to give tips to all of us about how we can improve or augment actions in our life to have a healthy lifestyle; it is not meant to be all inclusive but will include major components that are considered to be parts of a lifestyle that lead to good health (https://www.khaleejtimes.com/coronavirus-pandemic/healthy-lifestyle-is-vital-in-fighting-covid-19-says-uae-researcher).
Patrizia Marin
