by Jason Abendroth

Created on: August 12, 2009   Last Updated: August 17, 2009

Like our genes, a person's environment and lifestyle play a major role in determining life expectancy. For example, unhealthy choices such as smoking can have very serious effects upon human health. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), "The adverse health effects from cigarette smoking account for an estimated 438,000 deaths, or nearly 1 of every 5 deaths, each year in the United States." Effective smoking cessation programs would therefore be extremely beneficial to increasing the human lifespan.

Smoking may be one of the more unhealthy habits we have, but it is not the only obstacle to increasing the human lifespan. In addition to tobacco's ill effects, adverse health issues stem from many other causes as well, including:

-Poor diet and obesity

-Excessive alcohol consumption

-Chronic inactivity

-Overexposure to the sun

-Chronic stress

-Extended sleep deprivation

By visiting the CDC's website, we can see that for 2006 (latest data available) the top three leading causes of death ranked from highest to lowest are: heart disease (631,636), cancer (559,888) and stroke (137,119). After cancer, one can see that deaths drop sharply. If we combine heart disease and stroke into one category, namely cardiovascular disease, we have two very powerful enemies to confront.

At first glance the battle against cardiovascular disease and cancer to increase the human lifespan seems daunting, but having just two primary diseases to face can also be advantageous. Instead of splitting our attention in many different directions to achieve the best results, we can maximize our health benefits by going after the two biggest killers. No other cause of death is even close to the top two, both of which are highly susceptible to preventative measures, which I have listed below.

1. Exercise - moderate to vigorous physical activity for 30 minutes per day is an excellent way to live a longer, healthier life. The most benefit is attained by sustaining your target heart rate for the majority of the activity period, which should be vigorous enough to draw a sweat.

2. Diet - Another titan of prevention opportunities emerges every time we eat. A Mediterranean-style diet that emphasizes vegetables and fruits, whole grains, legumes and fish instead of saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium and sugar is highly regarded in its abilities to help thwart cardiovascular disease and even many types of cancer. Diet choices play a major role in disease prevention and should

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