哈佛大学新研究：五个习惯可以帮你延年益寿

　　A new study by Harvard researchers suggests that five lifestyle habits may be key to extending life expectancy by more than 10 years. But one of the longevity-boosting habits is especially important for living longer—staying away from smoking and tobacco.

　　由哈佛大学主导的一项新研究指出，五个关键的生活习惯可能会让你的寿命延长十年。但是在各项好习惯之中有一条特别重要，那就是不吸烟。

　　The research published in the medical journal Circulation cites five behaviors associated with significantly longer life: not smoking, keeping a healthy Body Mass Index (BMI), avoiding excess alcohol consumption, moderate-to-vigorous exercise, and keeping a healthy diet. Sticking to all five of those healthy habits was associated with 12.2 years of longer life for men and 14 years of longer life expectancy for women, according to the researchers. (Ok, this is a good time to note the caveat that this was an observational study and not a randomized clinical trial, and that correlation isn’t the same as causation.) Out of all these behaviors, however, avoiding smoking and tobacco products has been proven time and time again to be the most effective way to live longer—or at the very least avoid dying at an unnecessarily premature age.

　　该研究成果发表在医学期刊Circulation上，文中指出了五种有助于显著延长寿命的行为：不吸烟、保持健康的身体质量指数(BMI)、不酗酒、适当锻炼以及规律饮食。研究人员发现如果能坚持五种健康习惯，男性和女性的寿命分别能延长12.2岁和14岁。(但需要注意的是，这些结论仅基于观察性的研究，并无随机的临床试验基础，研究中因果关系存在一定的相关性，但并不能严格意义上说坚持这五种习惯就一定可以长寿)。不过在各健康习惯中，不吸烟和远离制品已被一再证明是延年益寿的有效方法，至少可以降低英年早逝的几率。

　　Let’s let the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) explain exactly why. “Smoking causes cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung diseases, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis,” writes the agency.

　　疾病预防控制中心(CDC)的解释称：“吸烟会诱发癌症、心脏病、中风、肺病、糖尿病，以及肺气肿和慢性支气管炎等慢性阻塞性肺病(COPD)。”

　　On a larger scale, that amounts to an estimated 16 million Americans living with a disease caused by smoking in some way or another. And it checks all of the big-name killing boxes: heart disease (the number one killer of Americans), cancer (the number two killer of Americans), and COPD (the number three killer of Americans).

　　从更宏观的角度来看来看，据估算美国有1600万人或多或少因吸烟而身患疾病。而且导致美国人死亡最多的疾病均与吸烟有关：心脏病(美国头号杀手)、癌症(排名第二的美国杀手)和慢性阻塞性肺病(排名第三的美国杀手)。

　　That’s a likely reason why the criteria in the latest study included avoiding smoking altogether. While the other associations surrounding diet and exercise have also shown strong associations with longer life expectancy and more healthy lives, avoiding smoking remains the single most powerful way to prevent an early death and extend life, according to multiple large-scale analyses.

　　也许这就是为什么近期研究成果中将不吸烟一同列入健康生活标准的原因。其他研究也显示，规律饮食和坚持锻炼与延年益寿与健康生活关系密切，不过避免吸烟仍然是防止早逝和延长寿命的最有效方式。