According to a new study, overall health can fall into just seven factors.
Life’s Simple 7 is the American Heart Association guidelines for achieving and maintaining ideal cardiovascular health. Factors include smoking, a nutritious diet, regular exercise, healthy weight, optimal blood pressure, controlled blood sugar, and well-controlled cholesterol.
In a meta-analysis published in the American Heart Association Journal published Wednesday, the researchers reviewed 483 studies on the effects of maximizing the simplicity of life on the health of many different physical systems.
Data show that maintaining the ideal level of at least three simple seven metrics of life, whether someone had a genetic predisposition, was associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, even if someone had a genetic predisposition. And better scores across all factors showed benefits in many physical systems beyond cardiovascular health.
“A few years ago, I learned that heart health and brain health are very closely linked. Through this review, I found that almost all organ systems and physical functions also benefit from maintaining the simple 7 healthy lifestyle behaviors of life.”
“We were surprised to find that the simple seven of life at the optimum level touched every aspect of health, from head to toe, to include overall health beyond cardiovascular health,” she added.
Noor McCalem, co-leader of the Chronic Disease Unit at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York City, said the researchers conducted a systematic review of the research that follows a gold standard approach. Macalem was not involved in the research.
One of the most important findings of the study is that a little change in terms of lifestyle and health makes a big difference, Aguyo said.
In this study, we evaluated compliance with Life’s Simple 7 using a scale of 0 to 14 points.
Each one-point improvement was associated with an 11% reduction in the risk of dementia, a 6% reduction in the risk of eye disease, a 23% reduction in the risk of fatty liver disease, and an 11% reduction in the risk of chronic kidney disease, Aguyo said.
“This means small changes that go from obesity to overweight, for example, to add physical activity even if the recommended level is counted as progression,” she said.
Data show that many of the studies are related to maintaining brain and lung function, vision and hearing, and muscle strength during the course of aging.
The studies included in the meta-analysis used Life’s Simple 7 to assess lifestyle behavior, but the AHA subsequently updated the metric to Life’s Essential 8.
McCalem said the new guidelines are more comprehensive. Dash represents a dietary approach to stop hypertension. Hypertension is a major contributor to heart disease and stroke.
Importantly, he added that the update adds an eighth indicator of recognizing the role of sleep in long-term health.
According to the AHA, sleep means 7-9 hours per night for most adults, 10-16 hours for children under 5 years old, 9-12 hours for children aged 6-12 years old, and 8-10 hours for adolescents aged 13-18 years old.
This study confirms adoption It’s important to achieve a healthy lifestyle Optimal health and management Traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease – weight, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels, Aguayo said.
Daily lifestyle choices have a significant impact on your overall health and it is worth taking steps to improve your cardiovascular health, Aguyo said.
“The important message is that it’s not too early or too late to make small, viable changes,” she said in an email. “Slight improvements in diet, physical activity, smoking, or risk factors management (weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, sugar) can provide meaningful benefits for all your body, not just your heart health, but your head to toe.”
For a heart-healthy diet, macarem is a good idea to focus on plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains, and consume lean proteins such as fish. She also recommended limiting drinks that are enriched in processed foods, sodium and sugar.
Adults should engage in 150 minutes of moderate physical activity, such as walking, dancing and gardening, or 75 minutes of active physical activity per week, McAlem added.
Ideal cardiovascular health is extremely rare given how small impactful changes can affect them. Less than 4% worldwide meet the criteria, Aguyo said.
“We need to do more to make young people, especially women, easier and more affordable. It can be achieved for all to improve cardiovascular health,” she added. “Cardiovascular disease remains the number one murderer of women. Supporting young people and women’s heart health is cost-effective and right.”
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