Genes are very strong indications for longevity. If it runs in the family, then you might likely live long, but if not, well… “In humans, genes have a 25 per cent influence on longevity,” says Sharad P. Paul, MD, author of The Genetics of Health: Understand Your Genes for Better Health who had also done extensive work on influence of gene on human longevity.
The flip side, however, is that 75 per cent of factors that control lifespan have nothing to do with your DNA, that is, it is in your hands to live long, or not, by the kind of lifestyle you choose to lead.
You don’t take your job too seriously
Workaholics could find themselves under stress a lot of times but those who take their jobs lightly could be in even more trouble. Researchers for the Longevity Project, housed at the University of California, Riverside, found that people who were the most committed to their jobs and who continued to be productive throughout their lives tended to live longer than those who were only in it for the paychecks. If you don’t want to clock out of life prematurely, find a career that you find meaningful so you’ll want to give it your all.
You sit all day
A sedentry lifestle is not good for you and that is a fact. A new study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, found that older women who stay seated for 10 or more hours a day have shorter telomeres—protective “caps” on the ends of DNA strands. The researchers consider this proof that these women have cells that are biologically eight years older than the women’s chronological ages. (So you could be, say, 65, but have the cells of a 73-year-old.) So what is the way out: Stand up more, move around a lot and make time for workouts.
You literally lag behind
Can’t walk as fast as your peers? Beware, unless it’s because you recently sprained your ankle. “Slower walking pace—inability to perform brisk exercise—is associated with an increased risk of disability and death,” says Dr Sharad Paul. Slow gait may indicate that your heart, lungs, circulatory, and/or musculoskeletal systems aren’t in great shape. Getting more exercise and seeking treatment for any underlying health conditions (like heart disease) should help get you up to speed.
You struggle to lift a few heavy grocery bags
You don’t have to be able to bench-press your body weight, but lack of adequate muscle mass puts you at risk for a premature death for a few reasons. Weak legs and core up your risk for falls and other injuries that can be life-threatening, and low muscle mass often means you have too much body fat—especially in your abdomen, says Melina Jampolis, MD, a physician nutrition specialist and author of The Doctor on Demand Diet. Abdominal obesity is especially dangerous because it predisposes you to a host of diseases, including diabetes and heart disease.
You don’t have higher education
Data from US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that people with university degrees tend to live almost 9 years longer than those who didn’t finish high school. The reason is that better education likely translates to more knowledge about how to live healthy lifestyle and better education puts individuals in a better position to have good jobs and that come with access to solid medical care.
Your favorite foods come in a box or wrapper
If processed junk food, sugar-sweetened drinks, red and processed meats, trans fats, and sodium rank very high on your main menu, then it’s a safe bet that you more likely to become obese, which raises your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer. To live longer one needs to trade junk food for lots of produce, whole grains, nuts, legumes, and fatty fish.
You’re divorced or widowed
This is mostly an issue for the guys, as marriage doesn’t seem to be as beneficial to women’s health as it is for men’s. In United States, the UCLA, Riverside’s Longevity Project found that most men who stayed in long-term marriages lived to at least 70 compared to only one-third of divorced men. So the next time your wife makes a doctor’s appointment for you or slaps your hand away from a bowl of chips, remember that the correct response is “Thank you.”
You’re a smoker
Most people have likely heard this: “Smokers are likely to die young.” Therefore, if you want to live long, simply choose not to be a smoker.
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