PREVENTATIVE HEALTH MEASURES FOR ALL OF US

Chicago Tribune
10-26-09

Oct. 25--Eating a Mediterranean diet rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes, olive oil, fish and cereals is associated with a slower rate of cognitive decline in adults 65 years and older.
Journal of the American Medical Association, August

People who live in neighborhoods with access to parks, safe walkways and public transportation and fresh fruits and vegetables are 38 percent less likely to develop diabetes than people who live in more unhealthy neighborhoods.
Archives of Internal Medicine, October

A daily supplement of 700 to 1,000 international units of vitamin D reduces older people's risk of falling by 19 percent.
British Medical Journal, October

For women past menopause, at least seven hours of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity a week during the previous 10 years is associated with a 16 percent reduction in the risk of breast cancer.
BMC Cancer, October

Men who engage in moderate exercise are significantly less likely to receive a diagnosis of prostate cancer. If they do receive a diagnosis, they are less likely to have aggressive disease.
Journal of Urology, September

Women who are obese in middle age are 80 percent less likely to be healthy and free of chronic disease at age 70.
British Medical Journal, September

Mortality rates for people with the lowest fitness scores are double those who are moderately fit and four times that of people with the highest scores.
Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, July