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'Wake-up' call to people over health 'Wake-up' call to people over health
(about 2 hours later)
People in Wales need to "wake up" and take responsibility for their own health, leading experts have said. People in Wales need to "wake up" and take responsibility for their health to avoid disease and early death, leading experts have warned.
The views have been expressed as a major health summit reflects on the findings of a ground-breaking 35-year study on lifestyles. It comes after one of the most influential research projects ever undertaken found healthy living can dramatically reduce chronic illness.
Cardiff University researchers have been tracking the habits of 2,500 men from around Caerphilly since 1979. Cardiff University researchers have been tracking the habits of 2,500 men from Caerphilly since 1979.
They found that those who followed specified healthy steps had a greatly reduced chance of chronic illness. Unhealthy living has accounted for 10% of NHS spending in Wales since then.
Known as the Caerphilly Cohort Study, it is the longest running research project of its kind to probe the influence of environmental factors on chronic disease. The Caerphilly Cohort Study is the longest-running research project of its kind looking into the influence of environmental factors on conditions such as cancer, dementia, diabetes and heart disease.
What the 35-year study foundWhat the 35-year study found
Those who followed four or five health steps were: Those who followed four or five health steps, including exercise, a balanced diet, not smoking, maintaining a healthy bodyweight and low alcohol intake, were:
The Healthy Ageing summit, organised by Cardiff University, will include representatives from the Welsh government, Public Health Wales, universities, health services, charities and members of the public. According to the latest Welsh Health Survey, less than 1% of adults in Wales follow the five health steps, while 39% live a lifestyle considered unhealthy.
Thirty men who took part in the Caerphilly Cohort Study, who are now in their late-70s to mid-90s, will attend the summit as living testimony to the benefits of healthy living. Unhealthy living has accounted for 10% of Welsh NHS costs since the study began, while the annual cost of prevention and public services in Wales is £280m.
Professor Peter Elwood, who has led the project since its inception, sees the event as a clear "wake-up" challenge to the people of Wales. Professor Peter Elwood, who led the study, said although the research showed healthy living was not a complete prevention, the men who did develop them did so at a much older age than those who led "neglectful lifestyles".
He said: "As a nation, we must wake up to the preventive power of living a healthy life. He said the study was a "wake-up call" for the people of Wales to change their habits.
"Thirty years ago, only 25 men in our study followed all five of our recommended healthy steps. "The appalling fact is that recent surveys across the whole of Wales yield almost identical proportions of men and women following the healthy and the unhealthy lifestyles that had been found in Caerphilly 35 years ago.
"Although following these steps do not give them complete protection against disease; the men who, despite living healthily, developed a disease, did so at a much older age than the men neglectful of their lifestyle. "As a nation, we must wake up to the preventive power of living a healthy life."
The five steps to a healthier life The findings of the study, shared at a healthy ageing summit in Cardiff on Thursday, have paved the way for new studies into health and lifestyle, including research involving half-a-million people in the UK.
"Thus the development of heart disease was delayed by up to 12 years, and it was up to around an additional six years before dementia took its grip." Work on how thinking function declines and dementia is continuing under the UK Biobank study led by Prof John Gallacher at Cardiff's School of Medicine.
While the Caerphilly study reaches a natural conclusion, it has paved the way for new studies into health and lifestyle, including research covering half-a-million people in the UK.
Work on how thinking functions declines and dementia is continuing under the UK Biobank study led by Prof John Gallacher at Cardiff's School of Medicine.
"The Caerphilly Study has made a tremendous contribution to UK Science," said Prof Gallacher.
"These are exciting times as we gear-up to do research that will bring significant public benefit, helping older people everywhere to have longer and more satisfying lives."