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Listen to Story If you think you can smoke, drink heavily and skip exercise in your 20s and 30s and still live a healthy life in old age, think again. A new long-term study has found these habits could begin harming your body and mind much earlier than expected, even as young as 36. The peer-reviewed study , published in the Annals of Medicine, tracked hundreds of people from the Finnish city of Jyvaskyla, born in 1959, from childhood into their 60s.
Researchers found that people who smoked, drank heavily, and rarely exercised had poorer mental and physical health by age 36, and the risks only worsened with time. "Our findings show the importance of addressing unhealthy behaviours early. But the good news is that it’s never too late to make positive changes," said lead author Dr Tiia Kekalainen, a health scientist who specialises in ageing.
The study followed 326 people from age 27 and reassessed 206 of them at ages 36, 42, 50 and 61. The researchers analysed their mental health through surveys on depression and psychological well-being, and measured physical health using blood pressure, cholesterol, waist size and other markers. Participants were also asked to rate their own health, and were evaluated for three risky behaviours : smoking, heavy drinking, and exercising less than once a week.
Those who had all three habits at once showed significant declines in health. They had higher levels of depressive symptoms, poorer self-rated health and a greater risk of diseases like diabetes and heart issues. In fact, the metabolic risk score for such individuals rose by 1.
49 points over the years, a sharp spike. The study found that lack of exercise was most strongly linked to poor physical health, smoking had the worst impact on mental health, and heavy drinking negatively affected both. The researchers noted that the study was observational, meaning it can't prove that bad habits directly cause poor health, though the link is strong.
In some cases, poor mental health may have led people to drink or smoke, which then worsened their health further. Having many unhealthy habits over time, like smoking, drinking too much, and not exercising, was linked to poorer mental and physical health. (Photo: Getty Images) They concluded that having many unhealthy habits over time, like smoking, drinking too much, and not exercising, was linked to poorer mental and physical health.
It's important to stop these habits early in adulthood or middle age to avoid long-term health problems. They also acknowledged the study’s limitations, including its focus on three behaviours and its older Western sample. Future research could expand this to include diet and newer lifestyle patterns.
Still, the message is clear: start young, but even if you’re late, switching to healthier habits can still make a difference..
