SINGAPORE - Those who pursue a healthier lifestyle by exercising regularly and having a plant-based diet, for instance, can raise their chances of living independently in old age, with no cognitive impairment and without severe chronic diseases like cancer.
This was among the findings of the Singaporean Chinese Health Study involving more than 14,000 Chinese Singaporeans who were recruited at the average age of 53 and then assessed later in life at an average age of 74 on the status of their health.
Based on this data, the study found a statistically significant impact between lifestyle factors and healthy ageing.
Professor Koh Woon Puay, senior author of the study, said while the study included only Chinese Singaporeans, there is no reason to believe from a biological perspective that this result should apply only to Chinese people.
More importantly, she said, the findings point to the importance of a healthy lifestyle to safeguard the quality of life at a later age for all - which is crucial in an ageing society.
Prof Koh, who is from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine), said: “Although Singaporeans have one of the highest average life expectancies in the world at 84, around 10 of the years are spent in poor health... more should be done to ameliorate this risk to ensure a higher quality of life for the ageing population of Singapore.”
The study, conducted by a team of researchers from the Healthy Longevity Translational Research Programme in NUS Medicine, investigated the effect of five lifestyle factors on the likelihood of ageing well.
Apart from exercising regularly and having a plant-based diet, the other three factors are having a healthy body mass index, not smoking and limiting alcohol intake.
After recruitment, participants were re-interviewed at an average age of 66 to assess the change in their lifestyle since recruitment.
Later at an average age of 74, the participants were interviewed again to assess their health status - if they had aged healthily after all.
Prof Koh said based on the longitudinal study, individuals who had increased the number of healthy lifestyle factors by the average age of 66 - that is, the point of the second interview - were able to improve their odds of ageing healthily.
This was an 18 per cent improvement of odds for each successive adoption of a healthy lifestyle factor, she said.
She added: “As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure... our study provides evidence that promoting a healthier lifestyle, even after mid-life, can reduce disease burden and maintain the quality of life for ageing Singaporeans.”
While Singapore has one of the leading healthcare systems in the world, which is equal to the Covid-19 pandemic and other challenges, Prof Koh said: “This problem of living in ill health will continue to plague us and so it’s time we return to our passion to fight this perennial enemy.”
