reduce the likelihood of an early death from heart disease and cancer by 50%

Actually quantifying the risk to men and women from obesity is extremely important because it gives doctors a tangible basis on what to base the likelihood of future illnesses. It is useful for them when explaining to their patients why they should lose weight. If for example somebody comes in to see a doctor and is told that their weight slightly increases the likelihood of heart disease they won’t pay much attention, however if they are informed that the risk is more than double and the implications of the illness are spelled out to them they may take some action.

A new study coming from the world renowned Harvard University recently examined the benefits of healthy eating, good exercise and maintaining a normal weight and concluded that if women followed these guidelines they could reduce the likelihood of an early death from heart disease and cancer by 50 percent.

In fact the results showed that by not smoking, avoiding too much red meat and unhealthy trans fats, maintaining a sensible weight and getting just half an hour of exercise daily was enough to greatly increase the chances of living a healthy and long life. From their statistics they saw that 55 percent of premature deaths in women were a result of not adhering to the above.

The authors of the study Dr. Rob van Dam and colleagues at the Harvard School of Public Health and at the Brigham and Women's Hospital examined the medical records of 80,000 women who had been part of the Nurses Health Study. This ongoing study keeps detailed records of all types of influences that affect health such as alcohol consumption, family medical history, smoking and exercise patterns.

The researchers said that smoking was the biggest indicator of premature illness followed by a lack of exercise, being overweight and unhealthy eating. Interestingly those people who drank a light to moderate level of alcohol reduce their likelihood of premature death by seven percent.

The research is likely to be used by doctors to help get the message across to their patients that prevention is far more effective than cure and that lifestyle changes made now are an extremely good investment in your future health.