A healthy diet that includes at least four servings of fruits and vegetables per week can increase life expectancy in Taiwan by an average of 3.25 years, a Taipei Medical University (TMU) study said.
The fruit and vegetable diet was among five lifestyle factors associated with life expectancy in the study, along with smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity and weight, said Lo Wei-cheng (羅偉成), an associate professor of public health at the university.
Lo’s research team, along with National Taiwan University’s College of Public Health and Academia Sinica’s Institute of Statistical Science, analyzed the personal data of 19,893 people compiled through a National Health Interview Survey, the researchers said in a statement.
Photo: Cheng Chi-fang, Taipei Times
The participants in the study were aged 30 and older when the first two health surveys were conducted in 2001 and 2005, with a mean age of 48.8, the statement said.
During a median follow-up period of 15.6 years, 3,815 participants died, the report showed.
The five lifestyle factors considered in the study were smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity during leisure time, the intake of fruit and vegetables, and the weight factor as represented by the body mass index, the statement said.
On average, the participants who adopted healthy choices in all five areas had a life expectancy of 7.13 years more than those who did not, Lo said.
He said the researchers used a rolling extrapolation method, which is an estimation of a value based on extending the known factors beyond the scope of the model.
Regarding the individual factors, a “sufficient” fruit and vegetable intake was associated with a life expectancy gain of 3.25 years, indicating that it was the most significant factor among the five studied in the research, he said.
About 90 percent of participants who were estimated to have gained the comparative increased life expectancy had a “sufficient intake” of at least four servings of fruits and four helpings of vegetables per week, Lo said.
The recommended “five a day” diet — three servings of vegetables and two serving of fruits per day — was adopted by only 10 percent of the participants, he added.
While the study did not investigate the effects of the intake of specific foods and nutrients, the quantity of fruits and vegetables consumed partially indicated the healthiness of a diet.
Meanwhile, participants who had never smoked were estimated to have gained a life expectancy of an additional 2.31 years, while those who were physically active gained 1.85 years, and nondrinkers and light drinkers 1.62 years, Lo said.
People who are overweight spent 21.1 percent more on healthcare than those who kept their weight in check, he said, adding that the study also examined the impact of lifestyle factors on healthcare expenditure.
The data on direct healthcare costs of the participants, including inpatient and outpatient care, was obtained from the claims database of the National Health Insurance, according to the research findings published in the JMIR Public Health and Surveillance journal in July.
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