There has been a lot of made of studies that suggest two drinks a day can stave off functional decline in old age. New research suggests that it’s lifestyle, not liquor, that really helps.
Researchers at the University of Ferrara, Italy, followed more than 3,000 seniors aged 70-79 to determine the relationship between alcohol intake and health outcomes. They discovered that, while initial results appeared to support the two-drink-a-day standard, lifestyle issues ultimately played a more important role. When lifestyle characteristicsÛÓphysical activity, body weight, education, income, etc were factored inÛÒthe relationship between moderate alcohol intake and reduced risk of functional decline diminished significantly.
There is still a strong correlation between moderate alcohol consumption and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease but when it comes to physical performance, the real determination is lifestyle. So people we still need to get up off our butts and exercise, still need to watch what we eat and then we can celebrate with those two drinks at the end of the day.
The report appears in the Oct 14 edition of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.