What people eat at age 40 can affect health decades later, Harvard study shows

In the study, investigators found that people who followed a healthy diet from their 40s were 43% to 84% more likely to be functioning well physically and mentally at age 70 compared to those who did not follow a diet such.

The research, based on data from more than 100,000 people in the Harvard Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, spanned 30 years.

“Diet is a major factor in the prevention of chronic diseases, yet few studies have examined and compared healthy diets and overall healthy aging that includes cognitive, physical and mental health,” said the study’s lead author, Anne-Julie Tessier, to UPI via email.

Higher consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, unsaturated fats, nuts, legumes, and low-fat dairy was associated with greater odds of healthy aging. In contrast, higher intakes of trans fat, sodium, and total meat, including processed meat, were associated with lower odds of healthy aging.

The study authors said their research was unique because it focused on healthy aging, which they defined not only as the absence of disease, but also the ability to live independently and enjoy a good quality of life as people age. .

“Traditionally, dietary guidelines have focused on preventing chronic diseases like heart disease,” said Tessier, a research associate in the Department of Nutrition at the TH Chan School of Public Health in Boston. She is a registered dietitian with a doctorate in nutrition.

She noted that the results of the study “will serve to inform public health recommendations to emphasize the importance of diet in middle age for promoting overall healthy aging.”

The researchers analyzed data from more than 106,000 people dating back to 1986. Participants were at least 39 years old and free of chronic diseases at the start of the study. Every four years, they answered questionnaires about their diet.

As of 2016, almost half of study participants had died and only 9.2% survived to age 70 or older while avoiding chronic disease and maintaining good physical, cognitive and mental health.

The researchers compared rates of healthy aging among people in the highest versus lowest quintiles for adherence to each of eight healthy dietary patterns identified by previous studies.

They observed the strongest correlation with the Alternative Healthy Eating Index, a pattern that reflects close adherence to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Participants ranked in the highest quintile for this dietary pattern were 84% more likely to achieve healthy aging than those in the bottom quintile.

Different diets were also strongly associated with healthy aging — the hyperinsulinemia diet (associated with a 78% greater likelihood of healthy aging), the planetary health diet (68%), the alternative Mediterranean diet (67%), dietary approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) (66%), the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Delayed Neurodegenerative Diet (MIND) (59%) and the Empirical Inflammatory Dietary Model (58%).

There was a somewhat more modest association for a healthy plant-based diet (43%).

“A new discovery was the link between the planetary health diet and healthy aging,” Tessier said. “This diet is based on the EAT Lancet Commission report, which emphasizes fruit, vegetables, whole grains, plant proteins and healthy fats from sustainable sources.

“The fact that it emerged as one of the leading dietary patterns associated with healthy aging is particularly interesting because it supports that we can eat a diet that can benefit both our health and the planet.”

The links between diet and healthy aging remained strong even after adjusting for other lifestyle factors known to affect health and socioeconomic status, Tessler noted.

She added that each healthy eating pattern was associated with overall healthy aging as well as individual components of healthy aging, including physical health, cognitive functioning and mental health.

Given the study’s emphasis on midlife dietary patterns, she said future research could shed light on the potential impacts of switching to a healthier plan later in life.

“These findings reinforce many well-established dietary approaches that have been associated with improved health,” said Kelly Kane, a registered dietitian and director of nutrition at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. She was not involved in the study.

“For example, the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet has been linked to lower blood pressure,” she said.

Confirming the importance of a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains is consistent with other recommendations for healthy aging, as well as minimizing the risk and treatment of chronic diseases, such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, Kane said.

“This study provides more information on the specifics of different patterns that may have the greatest health impact,” she said. “However, the hard part is applying these models to actual nutrition and dietary choices to reflect real-world eating.”

Kane recommended consulting a registered dietitian to tailor eating habits that would more closely match these healthy patterns.

More studies of this type would provide “alternative reasoning for why a healthy diet across the lifespan is so important,” said Jacquelyn Davis, a registered dietitian and manager of clinical nutrition at Bridgeport Hospital in Bridgeport, Conn.

While previous research focused primarily on preventing chronic disease, this new study highlights the contribution of a healthy diet to healthy aging and independent living as we age, Davis said.

“This can be a motivator for individuals to make changes in their eating habits without risking disease,” she said.

However, Dr. Jane Orient, executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, said she would take this study “with a grain of salt” because of the many confounding variables, including salt, calories, vitamins, socioeconomic status, education level and profession.

“There’s been a big shift over 30 years in what’s considered a healthy diet — margarine versus butter, for example, or low-fat versus low-fat,” said Orient, a general practitioner of internal medicine in Tucson. , Ariz.

The jury is still out on the best diet, she said, adding, “Are people who grew up cooking at home better off than those who eat mostly ‘comfort’ foods plus tons of snack foods today? The study, unfortunately , can’t answer that.”