Not exercising is just as unhealthy as smoking and taking opioids

Men in their 40s practising a healthy lifestyle are likely to prolong their lifespan by an average of 24 years, with women likely to live 21 years longer, new research has found. – Felix Kästle/dpa

If you are turning 40 and are fond of any or all of smoking, binge-drinking and opioids, there’s a fair chance you might not see eight or nine decades.

This might not exactly be news, but a long-term study covering almost 720,000 United States military veterans has thrown up some hints about what bad habits are worst, at least among former soldiers, who are more likely than the general population to suffer from conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder.