The Alameda County Study is a
longitudinal study
A longitudinal study (or longitudinal survey, or panel study) is a research design that involves repeated observations of the same variables (e.g., people) over long periods of time (i.e., uses longitudinal data). It is often a type of observationa ...
of residents from
Alameda County, California
Alameda County ( ) is a List of counties in California, county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and List ...
, which examines the relationship between lifestyle and
health
Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...
.
The "1965 cohort" were given health questionnaires in 1965, 1973, 1985, 1988, 1994, and 1999. The researchers found that those who followed five practices lived healthier and
longer lives:
* Avoiding
smoking
Smoking is a practice in which a substance is combusted, and the resulting smoke is typically inhaled to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream of a person. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, whi ...
.
*
Exercising regularly.
* Maintaining a healthy
body weight
Human body weight is a person's mass or weight.
Strictly speaking, body weight is the measurement of mass without items located on the person. Practically though, body weight may be measured with clothes on, but without shoes or heavy accessori ...
.
*
Sleep
Sleep is a state of reduced mental and physical activity in which consciousness is altered and certain Sensory nervous system, sensory activity is inhibited. During sleep, there is a marked decrease in muscle activity and interactions with th ...
ing seven to eight hours per night. (For related research, see
Sleep#Optimal.)
* Limiting consumption of
alcoholic drinks
Drinks containing alcohol (drug), alcohol are typically divided into three classes—beers, wines, and Distilled beverage, spirits—with alcohol content typically between 3% and 50%. Drinks with less than 0.5% are sometimes considered Non-al ...
.
Another study of the Alameda cohort suggests that
social and community ties can also help an individual to live longer.
[ (Lay summary in: )]
Later studies of the cohort considered the impact of religiosity, social status, and hearing loss on health outcomes.
See also
*
Blue Zone
*
*
Religiosity
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defines religiosity as: "Religiousness; religious feeling or belief. ..Affected or excessive religiousness". Different scholars have seen this concept as broadly about religious orientations and degrees of inv ...
*
Self care
Self-care has been defined as the process of establishing behaviors to ensure holistic well-being of oneself, to promote health, and actively manage illness when it occurs. Individuals engage in some form of self-care daily with food choices, ...
*
References
{{reflist
1965 establishments in California
Alameda County, California
Epidemiological study projects
Cohort studies