What's Your Real 'Body Age'

There's no way to get around the way in which we are aged by our environment.  The very air which we breathe affects our body.  A UK private medical insurer, PruHealth with Vitality, funded research into just how much our habits age our body beyond our "true age."  The research concluded that 86% of residents in the UK have bodies that appear physically older than an individual of the same age that is perfectly healthy.

The bad habits that lead to premature aging were; drinking, smoking, and binge eating combined with stress and a lack of exercise.  On average, British adults were found to be four years and 37 days older than their true age.  Researchers also found a correlation between income and health as those who had higher income had a health age almost two years less than those of a lower income bracket.

The research done by PruHealth shows incredible insight into how eating habits and people's lifestyles impact their overall health and can ultimately reduce their life expectancy.  There seems to be a disconnect between how we live our lives and the consequences that are to be expected from the choices we make.  It's easy to say that obesity causes health problems not its quite another to see just how much damage poor diet and lack of exercise can have on life expectancy.

Changing these statistics and eating habits isn't going to happen overnight.  It doesn't happen overnight for any of us.  Perhaps though, the answer lies in meeting people where they are, helping them understand the consequences, and leave them to make their own decisions.