People who are happy, having an active sex life, and who avoid debts, outlive the miserable, abstainers and the poor, as do chocolate eaters, churchgoers and vegetarians. New research shows exactly how many years longer people can live by adopting healthy behaviours – from stopping smoking and losing weight to eating less meat and being positive.

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. 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," say the authors of the study.

Researchers at Cambridge University have shown that adopting four healthy behaviours – exercising regularly, eating five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, not smoking and drinking moderately – could be worth an extra 14 years.

Research also shows how important marriage is, adding up to a decade to life – at least for men. For women, the picture is more complex, with some research suggesting that the stress and strain of living with a man can take years off a woman's life.

1.8 years

Be a winner

Nobel Prize-winning scientists live nearly two years longer than those who were nominated but who lost 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 had 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 do 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.. The physical exercise and metal sense of well being are thought to be implicated.

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 and 2.5 to 3.5 years for people who take statins. "Regular religious attendance is comparable with commonly recommended therapies, and rough estimates suggest religious attendance may be more cost-effective than statins,'' say researchers. One theory is that it reduces stress levels or that the camaraderie increases the ability to cope with stress. A similar effect has been found for having friends. 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. Those who engaged least often in activities such as work, shopping, or gardening, were 35 per cent more likely to die prematurely.

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. "Results raise the possibility that a lifestyle pattern that includes a very low meat intake is associated with greater longevity," they say. The health effect may be due to lower saturated fat intake and higher antioxidant levels as a consequence of eating more fruit and vegetables.

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. The researchers suggest that small amount of wine may be good for the heart and that it may prevent blood clots and also boost levels of good cholesterol.

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 and play golf

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. Adoption of healthier lifestyles is one explanation, and one of the biggest differences was in heart disease rates. 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. Research at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden shows that golfers live five years longer. The study shows a 40 per cent reduced risk of a premature end. Exercise may be partly responsible, but the health benefits of companion ship be implicated, too.

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. "It promises to be an effective safe, cheap, and tasty alternative to reduce cardiovascular disease and increase life expectancy in the general population," they say.

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 midlife had one third the risk of diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and gallstones as men and women who put on between 11 and 22 pounds.

7.5 years

Stay positive

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. A study at the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam showed that even men who underwent heart surgery lived three years longer if they gave up smoking after the operation.

10 years (men)

Get married

According to a Chicago University report, married men live, on average, 10 years longer than non-married men, while married women live about four years longer than non-married women. One theory is that men who marry add years to their life because they adopt less risky and more healthy lifestyles as a result of the commitment brought on by marriage. Married women may live longer due to improved combined financial wellbeing as a result of marriage. However, one Swiss study found that being married shortens a woman's life by 1.4 years, possibly due to the stress and strain of living with a man. According to an Australian government report, never marrying increases the risk of death over the next 10 years by 10.6 per cent, while being separated or divorced increases it by 9.4 per cent.

10-plus years

Be happy

A study based on nuns shows that the happiest lived a decade longer than the miserable. The two-year study at the University of Kentucky, found happy nuns were also less likely to develop Alzheimer's. One theory is that happy people are more likely to spot when they are ill and seek help, and less likely to smoke and be stressed.

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

生活快樂、有活躍性生活以及無債務煩惱的人會比生活悲慘之人、節欲者以及窮人要活得更長久。而喜愛吃巧克力的人、常去做禮拜的人和素食者也通常活得更長久一些。新的調查確切地顯示了保持良好生活習慣的人們所能活得更長久的確切年數以及這些良好生活習慣--從戒煙、減肥到少食肉類及保持心態積極。

哈佛大學一項對600個人進行的為期60年的監控研究表明，七種生活方式因素決定了我們究竟能否“善終”--不酗酒，不吸煙，婚姻穩定，有規律進行運動，體重正常、發展良好應付機制以及不斷受教育深造。

該研究的發起者說：“'壽比南山’不單單只是基因問題或命運所然。保持健康生活方式的選擇就能為成就長壽而充滿生機的生命鋪就一條道路。你是否“善終”了就意味著你不僅活了多長，還有你究竟在這生活過程中有多快樂”。

劍橋大學的研究者表明：采納以下四種健康生活習慣--有規律運動，每天進食5份水果和蔬菜，不吸煙以及少量飲酒--可延壽14年!

研究者同樣指出，婚姻是否美滿對于能否延長10年壽命也很重要--至少于男性而言。對于女性，情況就復雜得多。有研究指出，和一個男人生活在一起承受到的壓力和過度疲勞能縮短一個女人數年壽命。

1.8 年

做一個勝利者

據沃里克大學一項研究表明，獲得諾貝爾獎的科學家比已經被提名卻最終落選的科學家要多活至少兩年。多倫多大學科學家通過對所有獲得獎項的演員進行研究后發現獲得奧斯卡獎也可多活好些年。平均而言，獲得獎項者可以多活四年，而雙獎項獲得者則可在此基礎上再多活六年。我們依此可得出一個結論，那就是：高的社會地位對于長壽起著積極作用。

2年

進食巧克力

研究表明純巧克力對心臟有益并且可能推進長壽。基于哈佛大學畢業生的一項調查表明：進食巧克力的人比那些從不縱容自己吃這些的人多活一年左右。那些每個月吃一至三塊巧克力的人早死的幾率低了36%。抗氧化劑，特別是存在于純巧克力中的抗氧化劑，也許就是原因所在。

2.5年

多進行性生活

很多調查研究都建議說性生活有益于健康并可促進長壽。加利福利亞的一所大學調查報告說可以增長2年多壽命，而布里斯托爾的一所大學則研究表明性生活比較多的男人活得更長久。一周有兩次（或更多次）性生活的男人早死的機率是那些一月不滿一次性生活的男人的一半。這應該與性生活過程中的體能運動以及由此獲得的滿足感有關系。

3年

信教--結交朋友

經常去教堂或小禮拜堂參拜如同慢跑一樣對健康有益。匹茲堡大學的一項研究表明每周進行一次宗教禮拜活動相比較做運動增加的2.5至3.5年壽命和使用抑制素增加的3.5年壽命而言，可以增加2至3年壽命。“經常性禮拜活動與一般推薦的醫療活動有同等效用，而初步估計禮拜活動比起使用抑制素來說來可劃算多了”。有一點理論是說在做禮拜過程中可以有效減少壓力，或者說教友之間的友情增加了對抗壓力的能力。結交朋友也有同樣的效果。哈佛大學的一項研究表明：那些不怎么上教堂、旅游或參加社交活動的男女比那些經常有社交活動的人們早死的幾率多了20%。

3.6 年

少食肉類

少肉多素的飲食與降低過早死亡也大有關聯。美國洛美琳達大學的公共健康專家的一項研究調查發現：那些極少吃肉的人（一周不足一次）--如果長期堅持這種飲食習慣的話，可以增加3.6年的壽命。專家們表示：“研究結果使得這么一種可能性提高了：即一種生活方式模式（包括少食肉類）的養成與長壽之間的關聯是相當大的”。原因應該是少吃肉使得脂肪攝入少了，而多吃水果和蔬菜則使得硬化防治劑成分的攝入增加了。

3.7年

保持運動

適度運動（而非高強度運動）可以延長生命1.3至3.7年。荷蘭伊拉茲瑪斯大學的研究者認為主要原因是運動對心臟有益。運動同樣意味著人們過度肥胖的可能性減小而享有高質量人生的可能性增多。

4年

飲酒

據荷蘭一項研究表明經常性少量飲酒對于男人而言可以延長4年壽命。瓦格寧根大學的研究者們發現那些每天飲大約小半杯酒的男人過早死亡的幾率小了約38%。專家建議：少量飲酒可能有益于心臟，而且有可能舒筋活血，促進膽固醇良性轉化。

4.1 年

保持低血壓和低膽固醇水平

據耶魯大學的一項報告說明：保持低血壓和低膽固醇可以延長4年壽命。

5年

接受教育，打高爾夫球

受過高等教育的女人比起她們同年代受教育程度低的人有望長壽5年，而有大學學位的男人則可多活7.8年，這是哈佛大學的一項研究結果。能夠采納更健康的生活方式是解釋之一，而最大的不同區別之一就是得心臟病的比率大為不同。丹麥一項研究明：受過良好教育的男人一定程度上可延長2.7年壽命，而同樣的情況下女人則可延長2.2年。其他一些研究則表明無論男女，獲得博士學位者比碩士生要活得久一些，而碩士生們又比那些拿有一個普通學位的人要活得長。瑞典卡羅琳斯卡醫學院的研究者表示高爾夫球愛好者可以增壽5年。該研究顯示：打高爾夫球的人過早死亡的風險降低了40%。打球過程中所作的運動可能是一部分原因，但從中所感受到的友情也是一個不可或缺的因素。

6.6年

飲食科學

采納由伊拉茲瑪斯大學研究者們列出來的一份飲食清單有望增長壽命6.6年。該清單列出一日飲食應包括純巧克力、杏仁、水果、蔬菜、大蒜和酒，而每周則應該吃四次魚。研究者們認為，這樣做可以減少76%得心臟病的危險。

“這是一種安全有效、便宜而且很吸引人的飲食方式，它能有效降低普通大眾心血管病的發生，并能延長壽命。”他們說。

7年

減肥

減肥能增長7年壽命。牛津大學的一組研究人員發現人們在40歲時如果過度肥胖（體重指數或BMI超過30），平均要早死7年。哈佛大學的一項研究發現：對于從20歲至中年階段的人，如果體重增長不足5磅，那么比起那些體重增長11-22磅的人們，得糖尿病、心臟病、高血壓以及膽結石的危險只是1/3.

7.5年

保持積極心態

一項基于660個年齡超過50歲的人們的研究表明：那些對于生命以及“人之變老”持積極態度的人比起那些成天牢騷滿腹的人而言平均長壽了7.5年。耶魯大學曾經在荷蘭進行的一場為期23年的研究結果也表明積極樂觀者活得更長。樂觀者早死的危險不及55%。研究者認為消極者很可能更趨向于發展一些縮短生命的不良習慣及毛病如吸煙、過度肥胖以及高血壓。

8-10年

不抽煙

不抽煙可以增壽10年。赫爾辛基大學的一組研究人員發現那些從不抽煙的人比起那些一天抽20多支煙的人平均多活10年。新西蘭對男人進行研究發現50%吸煙者過早死亡，比不抽煙者早死了14年，而促使他們早死的“殺手”之中，心臟病、心絞痛以及癌癥首當其沖。值得抽煙者欣慰的是，戒煙“猶未為晚”。美國藥物濫用民族學院認為：一個35歲的煙民如果戒了煙，平均就能延長他的壽命5.1年。鹿特丹伊拉茲瑪斯醫學中心的一項研究表明即使是做過心臟手術的人，只要在手術后戒了煙，還是能多活三年。

10年（于男人而言）

結婚

據芝加哥大學一份報道稱：結婚男人比不結婚男人平均要多活10年，而結婚女人比不結婚女人要多活的年數大概是4年。有一點理論認為結婚男人之所以能延壽是因為他們在遵循婚姻承諾及義務過程中摒棄了一些不利生活方式而采取了一些更健康的生活方式。而結婚女人有可能活得更長是因為結婚作為結果給她們帶來了財政方面更有力的提高及保證。然而，瑞士一項研究發現結婚使得女人的壽命減少了1.4年，很可能是因為婚后與男人同住產生的壓力及過度疲勞所致。根據澳大利亞的一份政府報告所稱：在未來10年永不結婚所帶來的死亡增加率將超過10.6%，而分居或離婚將導致其增加9.4%。

10 年

保持快樂

一項針對尼姑作出的研究表明最快樂者比痛苦悲傷者能多活10年。這項在肯塔基大學進行了兩年的研究發現生性快樂的尼姑得阿爾茨海默病（譯者注：一種進行性發展的致死性神經退行性疾病）的幾率也小得多。有一點理論認為快樂的人們在生病或處于困境時容易獲得救助或幫助，并且不太可能去抽煙或深受壓力之負。

14年

改變你的生活方式

劍橋大學一項對2萬名45歲以上年齡的人們進行的為期14年的研究表明改變4種行為可以增壽14年。研究者們發現那些經常運動、每天吃5份水果和蔬菜、不抽煙以及飲少量酒的人平均比那些沒有以上生活行為的人多活14年。

20年

生活富裕，居有好鄰

生活富裕之人比貧困者要活得長久。美國巴爾的摩健康辦事處就曾經發現了這一明顯差別。貧民窟的平均壽命是63年，而富裕區的平均壽命則為83年。
was 63 years, against 83 in wealthy suburbs.