A healthy lifestyle at 75 gives a person the same chance of living for a further 10 years as someone a decade younger who smokes and drinks, a study has found.
For the first time, researchers have calculated a pensioner's chances of surviving for another decade, based on habits such
as smoking, drinking, exercise and fruit consumption.
The study of more than 16,000 people found that men aged 75 who smoked, regularly drank alcohol, led inactive lifestyles and ate little fruit had just a 35 per cent chance of being alive a decade later.
Others of the same age who did not smoke, did exercise, ate fruit and had moderate or no alcohol consumption had a 67 per cent chance of living a decade - the same figure for men 10 years younger with unhealthy lifestyles.
Among women, 75-year-olds with healthy lifestyles had a 74 per cent chance of being alive a decade later. The projection was only slightly lower for women 10 years' younger who smoked, drank a lot, rarely ate fruit and took little exercise.
