Want to Live to 85 or More? Well it's not that hard if you simply eat well, stay active and get your rest. One of the largest, longest studies ever conducted on aging found the primary reasons to stay trim and active is that raise your odds of living to at least age 85 considerably. Your chances of being healthy in old age are better than even for people who at mid life have normal blood pressureand several other physical characteristics associated with being fit and active. Some of these factors include normal levels of blood glucose and fats in the blood called triglycerides. These are both also associated with reduced calorie diets and eating lots of fruits and vegetables.

Some other habits linked with good health and well-being are well known and include avoiding smoking and excess alcohol, and being married and having a good grip!

The study involved 5,820 Japanese-American men from the Hawaiian island of Oahu who were followed for up to 40 years, but the researchers said the results likely apply to both men and women of other ethnic heritages. “There appears to be a lot we can do about modifying our risk and increasing the odds for aging more healthfully,” said author Dr. Bradley Wilcox, a scientist at the Pacific Health Research Institute in Honolulu.

The results appear in today’s Journal of the American Medical Association. The study shows “that you can still live healthy until age 85 if you live right,” said Dr. Carl Lavie, medical director of preventive cardiology at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans.

Most factors the researchers identified as contributing to longevity are well know and have long been associated with healthy living, but the study does a good job of making it easy to understand.

While Japanese-American men tend to be thinner and healthier than the general U.S. population, Dr. Lavie said it makes sense to think that the same factors that influence their survival would also affect other people. The study notes that people aged 85 and older are the fastest-growing age group in most industrialized countries and are among the largest consumers of health care resources. Understanding how to help people remain healthy as they age is included in this research.

Study participants were in their 50's on average when the research began. Of those studied 3,369, or 58 percent, died before age 85. Health was evaluated at the start and then in eight follow-up examinations. Eleven percent ( 655) reached a milestone the researchers dubbed “exceptional survival.” That milestone was the fact that they reached 85 without any mental or physical impairment, including cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung disease, Parkinson’s disease and diabetes. The men who had none of nine disease risk factors at mid life had a nearly 70 percent chance of living to age 85 and over 50% would have no major disease. By contrast, those with six or more risk factors at mid life will have only a 22 percent chance of living to age 85 and a less than 10 percent chance of no major disease incapacitating them.

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