Four golden rules 'severely reduce disease risk'
People can help to drastically reduce their chances of developing a deadly disease by following four golden rules, according to new research.
Those who stick to a combination of never smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly and following a healthy diet can decrease the risk of contracting a deadly or severe disease by up to 80 per cent, claim experts at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta.
The specialists conducted a study of nearly 24,000 patients aged between 35 and 65 and separated them into categories according to their lifestyle habits and illness history.
According to the experts, private health insurance customers who followed all of the golden rules had a significantly lower incidence of deadly conditions compared with those who did not follow any.
Dr Earl Ford, who led the team, said that the drastic reductions are largely because some of the major killers such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes are all partially avoidable if a healthy daily regimen is followed.
"An impressive body of research has implicated modifiable lifestyle factors such as smoking, physical activity, diet and body weight in the causes of these diseases," the authors commented.
The criteria for each of the rules were determined as never smoking, having a body mass index lower than 30, exercising for at least three and a half hours each week and eating a diet with a high intake of fruits and vegetables while limiting meat consumption.
After experts at the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Unit at The University of Manchester found that following a strict diet may limit the risk of breast cancer development, Dr Ford and his team said that the benefits of a healthy lifestyle are clear when it comes to the prevention of deadly diseases.
"Because the roots of these factors often originate during the formative stages of life, it is especially important to start early in teaching the important lessons concerning healthy living," the healthcare experts concluded.
By Stephen Tate
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