Monday, February 26, 2018

Drinking Alcohol More Important Than Exercise to Living Past 90

Clinic for Aging Research and Education in Laguna Woods, California

      RAISE A GLASS TO THE golden years.   Making it past 90 years old may boil down to drinking a couple of glasses of alcohol a night, according to a study on members of the oldest demographic in the U.S.   The 90+ Study, started in 2003, focuses on the fastest growing age group in America - the "oldest-old" - to determine what habits lead to quantity and quality of life, according to its website. This year, researchers at the Clinic for Aging Research and Education in Laguna Woods, California, focused on what food, activities and lifestyles are commonly featured among those living longer.   Analyzing more than 1,600 nonagenarians, the study results showed that people who drank two glasses of beer or wine a day improved their odds of living longer than those who abstained by about 18 percent.

     Dr. Claudia Kawas, a neurology specialist and head of the 90+ Study at the University of California, presented her findings at the American Association for the Advancement of Science's annual conference in Austin, Texas, on Feb. 17.   "I have no explanation for it, but I do firmly believe that modest drinking improves longevity," Kawas said in her keynote address.

     Exercising regularly and partaking in a hobby for two hours a day were also associated with longer lives. Surprisingly, people who were overweight, but not obese, in their 70s lived longer than normal or underweight people did.  "It's not bad to be skinny when you're young, but it's very bad to be skinny when you're old," Kawas said at the meeting.

Cheers to life, seriously.   When it comes to making it into your 90s, booze actually beats exercise, according to a long-term study.  The research, led by University of California neurologist Claudia Kawas, tracked 1,700 nonagenarians enrolled in the 90+ Study that began in 2003 to explore impacts of daily habits on longevity.
     Researchers discovered that subjects who drank about two glasses of beer or wine a day were 18 percent less likely to experience a premature death, the Independent reports.    Meanwhile, participants who exercised 15 to 45 minutes a day, cut the same risk by 11 percent.   “I have no explanation for it, but I do firmly believe that modest drinking improves longevity,” Kawas stated over the weekend at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual conference in Austin, Texas.
     Further study is needed to determine how habits impact longevity beyond people’s genetic makeups.