Ten ways to live longer

LONDON. March 8. KAZINFORM The British are less likely to live long and healthy lives than the inhabitants of most European countries - and we also trail Australia and Canada, whose people are more likely to be dancing a jig at a lively old age than we are.

This is the daunting conclusion of an analysis of data from the Global Burden of Disease study of the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle, comparing the UK with 18 other comparable countries and published in the Lancet medical journal. The UK ranked 12th out of 19 countries of similar affluence in 2010.

We have the NHS and much of the rest of the world envies us for it, but how long and healthily we live is not so much about how hospitals look after us - medical care contributes only about 20% to our healthy lifespans - as how we care for ourselves before we get there. Here are 10 tips for a longer, healthier life, Kazinform quotes the Guardian.

1. Move to Japan

With the highest healthy life expectancy in the world, as well as the longest lives for women (men in Andorra just pip their Japanese counterparts to first place), Japan is clearly the place to buy a 1LDK (one room apartment with a living, dining and kitchen area). Space may be limited but a healthy life is not. On average, Japanese women can expect 75.5 years of good health while men enjoy 70.6 years. In the UK, we get 70.1 years and 67.1 years respectively. It is not just about sushi and rice, according to Professor Kenji Shibuya and colleagues at the University of Tokyo, writing in the Lancet in 2011. "Japanese people give attention to hygiene in all aspects of their daily life," they said. "This attitude might partly be attributable to a complex interaction of culture, education, climate [eg humidity, temperature], environment [eg having plenty of water and being a rice-eating nation] and the old Shinto tradition of purifying the body and mind before meeting others." (Not something we can replicate with a little bottle of hand sanitiser on the desk.) They have regular health checks.

2. Get your blood pressure checked

Like checking the pressure of the tyres on your car, this is a very good idea. Some people have high blood pressure in the family. Others eat too much salt, don't take enough exercise, are overweight, stressed, smoke or drink too much. Most of this you can do something about, but for those who don't, a trip to the GP, who will prescribe pills, may prevent a heart attack or stroke. High blood pressure is the No 1 risk factor for early deaths and years of poor health in Europe. But if you have low blood pressure and none of the above risk factors, just a routine check on any visit to the GP for other matters is enough.

3. Eat seeds - not junk

Curiously, the Global Burden of Disease lists not only eating too little fruit (sixth-highest risk factor for early disease and death) but too few nuts and seeds (not far behind, at eighth). Too few vegetables are 12th, and low omega-3 (in oily fish, not tablet form), high processed meat and low fibre follow in that order. Too much trans fat is 19th, low calcium is 22nd and low milk consumption 23rd. So, yes, diet matters a lot and not just because eating too much makes you fat - high BMI or body mass index has a separate ranking as the fourth highest risk factor, causing heart disease, strokes, diabetes and cancers. But on a diet of nuts and seeds it is also pretty difficult to get overweight.

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