Bad habits cut 7.5 yrs of life in Ontario

Unhealthy habits are costing people living in Ontario, Canada, 7.5 years of life, researchers calculated. Dr. Vivek Goel, president and chief executive officer of Public Health Ontario, and colleagues at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and the University of Ottawa found 60 percent of deaths in Ontario are attributed to smoking, alcohol, poor diet, lack of physical activity and stress. The researchers suggested Ontarians could make gains in life expectancy if they all collectively made changes towards healthier living. By reducing five unhealthy behaviors Ontarians could become the healthiest people in Canada, the research team said. "Individually, if we all make one change like smoking less or being more physically active, then collectively we would be significantly healthier and live much longer," lead author Doug Manuel, a senior scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences and senior scientist at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, said in a statement. Almost all Ontarians have at least one of the five risks, but increasing physical activity and improving diet are the most common changes that Ontarians could make to improve their health, Manuel said. Improving healthy behavior would not only improve length of life, but also reduce disability in the later stages of life, the researchers said.