Science reveals at what age bad habits like smoking, drinking, or not exercising start to take their toll.
If we were to list the three worst human habits, the most frequently cited would likely be smoking , drinking alcohol , and not exercising . Now, a group of Finnish scientists has determined the age at which these bad habits begin to take their toll.
The study 's authors are from Laurea University of Applied Sciences, Finland. The researchers analyzed hundreds of children born in the Finnish city of Jyväskylä in 1959, who were followed from infancy to age 60.
The authors studied participants' mental and physical health through data collected from surveys and medical examinations when they were 27 years old (326 participants) and again at ages 36, 42, 50, and 61 (206 participants).
Three risk behaviors were assessed at each time point: smoking, excessive drinking, and physical inactivity (exercising less than once a week). Lack of exercise was most strongly associated with poor physical health, smoking was primarily associated with poor mental health, and excessive alcohol consumption was associated with deteriorating both mental and physical health.
Essentially, the effects were evident when the study participants were around 35 years old.
"Non-communicable diseases, such as heart disease and cancer, cause nearly three-quarters of deaths worldwide," says lead author Dr. Tiia Kekäläinen , a health scientist with a special interest in aging.
"However, by leading a healthy lifestyle, you can reduce your risk of developing these diseases and your chances of dying prematurely ," the researcher continues.
"Our findings highlight the importance of addressing health-risk behaviors, such as smoking, excessive drinking, and physical inactivity, as early as possible to prevent the damage they cause from accumulating over the years and culminating in poor mental and physical health later in life," Kekäläinen concludes.
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