Mastering the art of longevity starts at a young age. That’s right—your lifestyle choices as a 20-something-year-old can have a direct impact on your long-term health as you enter your 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and so on. In fact, new research suggests that certain "risky" habits can chip away at your mental and physical health by age 36.
RELATED: Plastic Surgeon Reveals the No. 1 Anti-Aging Supplement.
Researchers identify three "risky" habits that can weaken your overall well-being.
A new study published in the journal Annals of Medicine has dubbed smoking, heavy drinking, and lack of exercise as strong indicators of poor long-term mental and physical health—which can manifest as early as your mid-30s.
The observational study followed 326 participants born in Finland from childhood to their early 60s. Researchers recorded mental and physical health benchmarks at age 27, 36, 42, 50, and 61 via self-reported surveys and medical evaluations.
Participants answered questions about depressive symptoms and psychological well-being for the mental health portion, while physical health/metabolic risk was gauged via blood pressure, waist size, blood sugar levels, and cholesterol. Year-in-review assessments were completed for the self-health section.
More specifically, scientists analyzed three "risky" behaviors throughout the study. These included smoking, significant alcohol consumption, and lack of exercise.
"Non-communicable diseases such as heart disease and cancer cause almost three-quarters of deaths worldwide," said lead author and health scientist Tiia Kekäläinen in a press release. "But by following a healthy lifestyle, an individual can cut their risk of developing these illnesses and reduce their odds of an early death."
RELATED: A Daily Walk Could Add 11 Years to Your Life—If You Do It for This Long.
Smoking, drinking, and inactivity are linked to poor mental and physical health among adults in their mid-30s.
Result analysis showed that adults in their mid-30s had declining mental and physical health if they spent their 20s and early 30s smoking, drinking excessively, and avoiding exercise. To arrive at their findings, researchers used a points system for each risky behavior. Depression symptoms and psychological well-being were scored on a scale of 1-4 points; self-rated health on a scale of 1-5 points; and metabolic risk on a scale of 0-5 points.
As expected, inactive participants had poorer physical health. Mental health struggles were connected with smoking, while increased alcohol consumption resulted in poor mental and physical health. A long-term combination of all three risky behaviors led to a 0.38 increase in depressive symptoms, a 1.49 increase in metabolic risk, a 0.14 decline in psychological well-being, and a 0.45 decline in self-rated health.
"Our findings highlight the importance of tackling risky health behaviours, such as smoking, heavy drinking and physical inactivity, as early as possible to prevent the damage they do from building up over the years, culminating in poor mental and physical health later in later life," explained Kekäläinen.
RELATED: This Common Sleep Habit Could Raise Heart Attack and Stroke Risk by 26%, New Study Finds.
The takeaway:
According to the study, adults in their mid-30s are likely to have poor mental and physical health if they smoke, drink heavily, and lack an exercise routine. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t course correct to set future you up for success in your 40s, 50s, and 60s.
"It is never too late to change to healthier habits. Adopting healthier habits in midlife also has benefits for older age," said Kekäläinen.
This study also had its limitations. If they were to do it again, the authors said they would include diet as one of the habits/factors. Additionally, certain factors hold more risk significance than others, which weren’t explored in this study. Lastly, future studies should also examine how poor mental/physical health can manifest "risky" habits, as the two can work in tandem.
