New research suggests that body weight during young adulthood may have a significant impact upon longevity. Drs. Maria M. Corrada, Annlia Paganini-Hill, and Claudia H. Kawas questioned more than 10,000 adults aged 75 and over about their height, weight, and physical activity levels, and followed them for 20-years. Results showed that participants who weighed the least at age 21 and those who participated in regular physical exercise were significantly more likely than their peers to live to 90 years of age and beyond. In fact, the risk of dying before 90 was found to increase with every 5-pound increase in weight at 21 years old. However, taking regular exercise when we are older may play down this risk, as adults who said they exercised for ate least 30-minutes each day were 24% to 31% less likely to die before their 90th birthday than less active participants. The study also found that the use of vitamin supplements and other nutrition habits and health practices did not appear to have a significant impact upon surviving to age 90-plus. The authors concluded: “Being overweight in young adulthood is detrimental to survival to very old age…Regular daily exercise during late adulthood is beneficial, improving survival to very old age.”
SOURCE/REFERENCE: Reported by www.reutershealth.com on the 4th April 2003
