News Articles - The Killer Quartet

The Killer Quartet

  • Smoking;

     

  • Alcoholic Drinking;

     

  • Poor Diet; and

     

  • Physical Inactivity.

The above killer quartet of unhealthy lifestyles can cut a person average lifespan by a decade. Individuals who engaged in all the 4 high-risk lifestyles suffered 3 to 4 times the death rate for cancer; heart disease; diabetes; or stroke compared to people who engaged in none of these negative behaviors according to recent published research.

 

These negative lifestyles behaviors were determined as:

  • Smoking;

     

  • Alcoholic Drinking - Consuming more than 4.2 ounces (124 ml) of alcohol per week for women and 6.3 ounces (186 ml) for men;

     

  • Poor Diet - Consuming fruits and vegetables less than 3 times per day; and

     

  • Physical Activity - Engaging in less than 2 hours of physical activity per week.

Reducing or ending these negative behaviors could add years to one's life. Modest but attainable adjustments to one's lifestyles will have a considerable positive impact at both the individual and general population.

 

An important priority of any public health policy should include developing effective methods to promote positive lifestyle behaviors across the population.

 

 

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