Dr Saheb Sahu, FAAP, MPH.
The American Heart Association (AHA) has identified 8 lifestyle factors; calling it Life’s Essential 8; metric and its association with both life expectancy and health span free of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases (CVD), cancer, diabetes and dementia.
The recommendation was based on a study which leveraged the UK Biobank and included more than 135,000 UK adults with a mean age of 55. The AHA metric was defined as including the following lifestyle behavioral factors:
1- Not smoking
2-Regular physical activity (150 minutes of moderate activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week)
3-Halthy weight (BMI less than 25 or23 for Asians and waist circumference of less than 78cm for Indian men and 72cm for women)
4-Healthy diet( an heart healthy diet consisting of whole grains, plenty of vegetables and fruits, low fat milk products, a variety of protein foods including beans and legumes, sea foods, lean meat, eggs, nuts and soy products, and vegetable oils.Limit saturated fat, trans fat, sugar and salt and alcohol)
5-Healthy sleep (defined as 7-9 hours nightly)
6- Blood pressure in a healthy range (normal- systolic less than 120 and diastolic 80, pre-hypertensive, systolic-121-139 and diastolic 80-89; hypertensive- systolic over 140 and diastolic over 90)
7-Blood sugar in healthy range ( normal- fasting blood sugar less than 100mg/dl or HbA1c less than5.7, prediabetes- blood sugar 100-125mg/dl or HbA1c5.7-6.5, and diabetic- fasting blood sugar more than 125mg/dl or HbA1c over 6.5)
8-LDL (low density lipoprotein-bad cholesterol) should be below 100mg/dl. Ideally your HDL (high density lipoprotein– good cholesterol) should be 60 or higher and your total cholesterol should be less than 200 mg/dl.
Summary
Overall, the findings of the study make a compelling case for the importance of life style factors in extending longevity, free of chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer and dementia (memory failure). Do not smoke. Exercise regularly. Maintain an ideal body weight. Eat a heart healthy diet. Know your blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol numbers. Get treated if they are abnormal. Stay in touch with your family and friends for better mental health. Both physical and mental health is important for a good life.
Source:
www.ahajournals.org, 29th June, 2022
