| By :
Martin Hofschroer
Combining a poor diet with an inactive lifestyle will result in an early grave, according to a scientific study. A person can knock 12 years off their life expectancy by smoking, drinking, not exercising and eating badly, claims a report in the April issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. Scientists from Glasgow, Southampton and Oslo universities analysed the results of adult health surveys carried out in the mid-1980s from across the UK, in a study which looked at the combined impact of the four vices on the body. The scientists focused on smokers, women who drank more than 14 units a week, men who drank more than 21 units, people who ate less than three portions of fruit and vegetables a day and people who did under two hours of exercise a week. They studied the health records to investigate how many had died since the survey was carried out and what resulted in their death, which allowed them to calculate the impact of individual and combined vices on various illnesses. Dr Elisabeth Kvaavik, of the University of Oslo, said: "Several studies have shown that specific health behaviours, including cigarette smoking, physical inactivity, higher alcohol intake and, to a lesser extent, diets low in fruits and vegetables, are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and premature mortality (death)." The study found that people who had all four vices were around three times as likely to have died of heart disease or cancer compared to those who did not have any of the bad habits. In addition, the research also found that those who had all four vices were four times as likely to have died overall. Dr Kvaavik added: "The combined effect of poor health behaviours on mortality was substantial, indicating that modest, but sustained, improvements to diet and lifestyle could have significant public health benefits. "Developing more efficacious methods by which to promote healthy diets and lifestyles across the population should be an important priority of public health policy." In a related investigation in the European Heart Journal doctors discovered that people who take overtime on a regular basis and work 10 or 11-hour days increase their risk of heart disease by nearly two-thirds. The study of 6,000 British civil servants revealed that employees who worked three to four hours of overtime a day ran a 60 per cent higher risk of contracting heart disease. Health experts have advised people to improve their diet and exercise more if they are feeling stressed. A study by the University of Liverpool found that weight loss products such as t5 slimming pills and t5 fat burners are more likely to have a positive effect if people take them alongside a balanced diet and healthy exercise regime.
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