The Zoomer Report: Five Unhealthy Habits

That’s how much longer Ontarians would live, on average, if we could ditch five bad habits: smoking, excessive drinking, poor diet, a sedentary lifestyle and stressing out.

The Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences and Public Health Ontario came to that conclusion after crunching the numbers. And that staggering number of 7 and a half years is just an average, it’s not the worst of it.

For those who have all five bad habits, life expectancy is 68.5 years for men and 71.5 years for women.

Compare that to people with the healthiest lifestyles, non-smoking, moderate drinkers who exercise regularly and eat lots of fruit and veggies: their life expectancy is 88.6 years for men and 92.5 years for women. That’s a 20-year difference between the worst and the best lifestyles.

The latter group also lives a decade longer without the chronic conditions and disabilities that are common in older Zoomers. Don’t feel too badly if you’re somewhere in the middle. Only 1.4 per cent of Ontarians have no bad habits. And other factors like income and education have an impact.

But the report says those five unhealthy habits account for more than 60 per cent of premature death. And smoking, drinking, eating and sitting are things we can all try to control.

READ MORE ZOOMER REPORTS:
The Zoomer Report: Dogs and Exercise
The Zoomer Report: Benefits of Sex
The Zoomer Report: Surgery for Diabetes

About The Zoomer Report
Libby Znaimer, a prominent Canadian journalist specializing in business, politics, and lifestyle issues, is producer and host of The Zoomer Report, a special feature on topics of interest to baby boomers and the 50+. It covers everything from health and wealth to leisure and volunteerism, from the special vantage point of the generation that has changed society in its wake.
Ms. Znaimer is also Vice-President of News and Information for Classical 96.3FM and AM740. Her first book, “In Cancerland – Living Well Is The Best Revenge” – was published in October 2007 by Key Porter.