Who knew drinking can also have benefits if done in moderation? A study called 90+ Study started in 2003 has recently proved that drinking in moderation when over 90 years old can help prolong life.
The study was conducted on the oldest population of the US and namely the 90+-year-olds that seem to be the fastest growing age group in the States.
The study analyzed more than 1,600 90+-year-olds and showed that those among them who drank two glasses of wine or beer per day have lived longer than those who didn’t engage in moderate but regular drinking.
While this might sound like a surprising result, even for the lead of the study, Claudia Kawas, it might be tied with developing a constant habit. Hobbies and habits help keep adults more engaged and focused, and this seems to be the basis of the positive outcome of this peculiar “hobby”.
So next time you are thinking of having a glass of wine after work, you don’t need to feel guilty as if done with moderation, it can improve your life expectancy.
Dr. Claudia Kawas, a neurology specialist and head of the 90+ Study at the University of California, presented her findings at the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s annual conference in Austin, Texas, on Feb. 17.
“I have no explanation for it, but I do firmly believe that modest drinking improves longevity,” Kawas said in her keynote address.
Exercising regularly and partaking in a hobby for two hours a day were also associated with longer lives. Surprisingly, people who were overweight, but not obese, in their 70s lived longer than normal or underweight people did.
“It’s not bad to be skinny when you’re young, but it’s very bad to be skinny when you’re old,” Kawas said at the meeting.
