"10 big ones" to go - the big countdown begins

So, Katie you are so right to love chocolate it helps you live longer, and theres always chocolate as a gift for your Kris Kringle, read on

Live long and eat chocolate

* December 15, 2008, The Age

Doctors can now tell us which habits may extend our lives - and just how much extra time they give us, writes Roger Dobson.
PEOPLE who are happy, have an active sex life and avoid debts outlive the miserable, abstainers and the poor, as do chocolate eaters, churchgoers and vegetarians.
International research shows exactly how many years longer people can live by adopting healthy behaviours.
A Harvard University study that monitored 600 people for 60 years shows that seven lifestyle factors are key to determining how well we age — avoiding alcohol abuse, not smoking, having a stable marriage, exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy weight, developing good coping mechanisms and pursuing education.
"Successful ageing isn't simply a matter of genes or fate," say the authors of the study.
"Making healthy choices can pave the way for a long, vital life. How well you age will help dictate how long you stay alive and how happy you are to do so."

1.8 YEARS BE A WINNER
Nobel Prize-winning scientists live nearly two years longer than those who were nominated but who missed out, according to a Warwick University study. Winning an Oscar can also add years, according to Toronto University researchers who studied all the actors to win an award. Winners lived four years longer on average, while double winners bagged an extra six years. One theory is that high social status has a positive effect.

2 YEARS EAT CHOCOLATE
Studies have suggested that dark chocolate is good for the heart and may boost longevity. Research based on Harvard graduates showed chocolate eaters lived a year or so longer than those who did not indulge. Those who ate one to three bars a month came out best, with a 36 per cent lower risk of premature death. Antioxidants, especially in dark chocolate, may be responsible.

2.5 YEARS HAVE LOTS OF SEX
A number of studies have suggested that sex is good for health and longevity. A University of California study reported that it could add more than two years, while a Bristol University study showed that men who have frequent orgasms live longer. The risk of an earlier death in men who had sex twice or more a week was half that of men whose frequency was less than once a month.

3 YEARS BE RELIGIOUS — AND HAVE FRIENDS
Regular attendance at church or chapel can be as good for the health as jogging. A study at the University of Pittsburgh showed that weekly attendance at a religious service added two to three years, compared with three to five for physical exercise. Harvard University research shows that men and women who were less likely to attend church, travel, or take part in social activities were 20 per cent more likely to die early than those who socialised the most.

3.6 YEARS EAT LESS MEAT
Diets with low levels of meat and vegetarian diets have been linked to lower risk of premature death. A review of research by public health specialists at Loma Linda University in America looked at the life expectancy of those who rarely ate meat — less than weekly — and found that long-term adherence to such a diet added 3.6 years to life.

3.7 YEARS KEEP ACTIVE
Moderate to high levels of activity can extend life by between 1.3 and 3.7 years. Researchers at Erasmus University in the Netherlands say the main reason is the beneficial effect that physical activity has on the heart. Exercise also means people are less likely to be overweight and more likely to have a better quality of life.

4 YEARS DRINK WINE
Regular drinking of small amounts of wine can add four years to life for a man, according to a Dutch study. Researchers from Wageningen University found that men who drank about half a glass of wine a day were 38 per cent less likely to die prematurely.

4.1 YEARS HAVE LOW BLOOD PRESSURE AND CHOLESTEROL
Having a low blood pressure and cholesterol levels are associated with a four-year-longer life span, according to a Yale University report.

5 YEARS BE EDUCATED
Highly educated women can expect to live more than five years longer than their less-educated contemporaries, while men with a university degree have an extra 7.8 years, according to a Harvard University study. A Danish study found more modest increases in life expectancy — 2.7 years for well-educated men and 2.2 years for well-educated women. Other research shows that men and women with PhDs live longer than those with masters degrees, who in turn outlast those with a degree.

6.6 YEARS EAT WELL
Adopting a diet proposed by researchers at Erasmus University could increase life expectancy by 6.6 years. The diet involves daily consumption of dark chocolate, almonds, fruits and vegetables, garlic and wine — and fish four times a week. This, say the researchers, could cut heart disease risk by 76 per cent.

7 YEARS LOSE WEIGHT
Losing weight can add as much as seven years to life. A team at Oxford University showed that people who are obese at the age of 40 — body mass index or BMI greater than 30 — died, on average, seven years earlier. A Harvard study found that people who gained no more than five pounds between age 20 and mid-life had one-third the risk of diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and gallstones as men and women who put on between five and 10 kilograms.

7.5 YEARS STAY POSITIVE
A study based on 660 people aged over 50 shows that those who had a more positive take on life and ageing lived on average 7.5 years longer than the grouches. Results from the 23-year Yale University study are supported by work in the Netherlands which shows that optimists also live longer. Optimists had a 55 per cent lower risk of early death. Researchers say pessimistic people may be more prone to developing habits and problems that cut life short, such as smoking, obesity and high blood pressure.

8 to 10 YEARS DON'T SMOKE
Not smoking adds up to 10 years to life. A team at the University of Helsinki found that those who had never smoked lived an average 10 years longer than those who smoked more than 20 a day. Research on men in New Zealand showed that 50 per cent of smokers die prematurely, and that they die 14 years earlier than non-smokers, and heart disease, strokes and cancer are among the biggest killers. The good news for smokers is that it is never too late to give up, According to the US National Institute on Drug Abuse, a 35-year-old man who quits smoking will, on average, increase his life expectancy by 5.1 years.

14 YEARS CHANGE YOUR LIFESTYLE
Changing four behaviours can add 14 years to life expectancy, according to a study based on 20,000 people over 45 led by Cambridge University. Researchers found that those who exercised regularly, ate five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, didn't smoke, and had a moderate alcohol consumption lived an average of 14 years longer than those who adopted none of these behaviours.

20 YEARS BE WEALTHY AND LIVE IN THE RIGHT NEIGHBOURHOOD
Wealthy people live longer than the poor. One of the starkest contrasts was found by Baltimore health officials in the US. In the impoverished neighbourhoods, average life expectancy was 63 years, against 83 in wealthy suburbs.