Menzies' researchers have shown for the first time that healthy lifestyle habits are clearly associated with a better cardiovascular risk profile in young adults. The study findings were published in this month's European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation.

Menzies' researchers have shown for the first time that healthy lifestyle habits are clearly associated with a better cardiovascular risk profile in young adults. The study findings were published in this month's European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation.

Chief study investigator, Menzies' Dr Seana Gall says that we already know from previous studies of older adults that healthy lifestyle behaviours are good for your heart.

"Our study is important because we've shown that even in your 20s and 30s, maintaining a healthy lifestyle is good for your heart," Dr Gall said.

"Cardiovascular disease is Australia's biggest killer and we are increasingly seeing younger people being affected by some form of heart, stroke or blood vessel disease."

"Young people with high levels of heart disease risk factors are more likely to have heart attacks and strokes at earlier ages."

"Preventing heart disease through healthy lifestyle habits should therefore be a lifelong process and not just something for older people to worry about."

The investigation, which is part of the Childhood Determinants of Adult Health (CDAH) study, included over 2000 people aged 26 to 36 years from around Australia.

Dr Gall and her colleagues, including researchers from the University of Adelaide and the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, found the more healthy habits people had, the better their levels of blood pressure, cholesterol and triglycerides, which are risk factors for heart disease.

"The latest National Health Survey (2007- 08) shows that Tasmanians have less healthy lifestyles than other Australians, particularly in terms of smoking and being overweight," Dr Gall said.

"We urgently need to get the lifestyles of Tasmanians healthier if we want to prevent heart disease."

"Promoting the use of a simple healthy lifestyle checklist to young people might be one way to encourage them to take charge of their own health," Dr Gall said.

Menzies' Professorial Research Fellow and Heart Foundation Tasmania Board Member, Professor Mark Nelson says, "The healthy lifestyle checklist is potentially very useful because it does not require costly or invasive procedures, which GPs might be wary of conducting on younger people."

"GPs are always encouraging people to have a healthy lifestyle. A checklist like this that people can calculate themselves might make this message easier to get across," Professor Nelson said.

Before Dr Gall's study, the healthy lifestyle checklist was only used in people aged over 65.

The healthy habits checklist includes: being a healthy weight; not smoking; regularly consuming fruit, vegetables and fish; and limiting intake of alcohol, meat, salt and high-fat milk.

 "The next step for this research is to figure out whether using the healthy lifestyle checklist might help young people to change their habits and reduce their risk of heart disease," Dr Gall said.

The healthy lifestyle checklist was originally developed by a team of researchers from the University of Western Australia and the University of Queensland.

Funding bodies that support this study include: the National Health and Medical Research Council, the National Heart Foundation of Australia, Tasmanian Community Fund and Veolia Environmental Services.

Released by:

Fiona Horwood
Communications Manager
Menzies Research Institute
Telephone:(03) 6226 7751

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