Healthy Living for Healthy Hearts

Women can dramatically reduce the likelihood of heart disease prior to old age by adopting a healthy living lifestyle. This is according to a long-term study. The study found that women who followed healthy living recommendations, such as eating a healthy diet and getting regular exercise, reduced their odds of heart disease by 90 percent over 20 years. The women were compared to others living the unhealthiest lifestyles.

The researchers estimated that unhealthy lifestyles were responsible for almost 75 percent of heart disease cases in younger to middle-aged women. Adopting or maintaining a healthy lifestyle can substantially reduce the incidence of diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol, as well as reduce the incidence of coronary artery disease in young women.

A healthy lifestyle was also associated with a significantly reduced risk of developing heart disease among women who had already developed a cardiovascular risk factor like diabetes, hypertension or high cholesterol.

The study followed 90,000 nurses from 1991 to 2011. The women were between 27 and 44 years old when the study started. The researchers focused on six behaviors considered as healthy, such as not smoking, exercising regularly, keeping a normal weight, getting 7 to 8 hours of sleep nightly, eating a healthy diet and drinking no more than one alcoholic beverage per day.

The conclusion of the study confirms the importance of healthy behaviors, such as not smoking and exercising more. These findings also play a role in moving the public discussion toward adopting a healthy way of life as the standard norm. If you need help getting started on your path to fitness, get in touch with a personal trainer in your area. If you need a referral, contact me at Debra Baker Fitness.com. I will send you a referral and free tools to help you on your journal to fitness.