Exercising for at least for half an hour a day and indulging in a Mediterranean diet, which is based on a rich serving of vegetables and fish, may be the key to longevity and good health, highlights a new study conducted by the World Health Organization.
According to the study, exercising just 30 minutes a day can add five years to your life. Walking, cycling and even climbing the stairs are included in the tally, reported THE online edition of Daily Mail. Similarly, people who eat a Mediterranean diet also have health benefits.Older people, in particular, who eat this diet, can expect to live longer. A healthy man of 60 who sticks to a Mediterranean menu could expect to live a year longer than a man who has not changed his diet, the study said.
WHO added that smoking knocks an average six years from one's life and women are likely to be affected more than men. The habit causes lung disease, strokes, oral cancer and heart disease. Every time you puff a cigarette you lose another 11 minutes.
Scientists have also found that a group of health-food fanatics had hearts 15 years younger than those of other people their age.
Edited IANS
