Evidence from the Harvard Study of Adult Development

George Vaillant reports that as the men in the W.T. Grant study reached their 80's study staff anticipated that dementia would be a serious problem. That wasn't the case. Most of the men developed vascular problems which became important health concerns.

"Of 189 "healthy men" at age forty, 103 had no risk factors, and 86 had one or more." Those 86 were already well on the way to worse outcomes. Poor health is created over many years, by the life choices you make.

Of the 86, "healthy men" who were less healthy at forty, 65 were either dead or chronically ill at eighty (76%).

Dr Ted Niaman Vegetarian Diet in his 20's Very-Low Carbohydrate Diet at 43

In contrast, of the 103 healthy men with no risk factors, at eighty, only 45 were dead or disabled. (45%) That's much better. Refer to the Dunedin Study where the biological age of people at 38 years of age was evaluated.

It's important to note what Vaillant was measuring regarding vascular risk factors. He lists smoking (significant), alcohol abuse (very significant), high diastolic blood pressure (very significant), obesity (very significant), type II diabetes (very significant).

Vaillant says; "The main causes of early death (before eighty) are vascular factors over which we have considerable control." Good health self-care before the age of fifty is something you can do. Stop smoking, avoid excessive alcohol or drug use, watch your weight, and control your blood pressure. If you just do that, your chances of being healthy at eighty are very good, according to Vaillant.

Factors that were insignificant in leading a long life may surprise you. They include; cholesterol level, exercise, parental social class, and psychological defence's. Getting a university degree was a very significant advantage in extending one's life (adding about 4yrs). The longevity of one's parents is irrelevant for most of us. However, for the extreme groups, the top 16% and the bottom 16% of ancestral longevity, there is a significant statistical advantage or disadvantage once you are over eighty. Late in life good genes might be an advantage.

John Stephen Veitch