Obesity is, generally speaking, looked at as being a very bad thing. After all, when a person allows themselves to get too heavy and out of shape, it’s more than just how they look, but how much they’re really doing to their own bodies, which can lead to heart disease and other issues.
But there’s a bit of good news for all you schlubs out there who don’t give a damn about staying in shape, because a new study says that the secret to living longer may be simple: drink alcohol, drink coffee and stay overweight. Yep, that seems like the most awesome news of our day, because it just means we can eat pizza while downing some heavy IPA and not worry about sneaking in some gym time.
The incredible research results comes from the University of California’s Irvine Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders (UCI MIND), which found that the key ingredient to living a long life are the three aforementioned factors. So, if you’re worried about all those pounds you’ve packed on the past few weeks with the holidays going on, stop, because, in the long run, they could actually be helping you extend your life. Crazy, right?
Of course, there is a caveat to all of this good news. While the researchers did find the factors as being helpful in living longer, be sure to drink both alcohol and coffee in moderate amounts, and make suer you’re overweight in your 70s, but not necessarily before.
Per Maxim:
The researchers explained: “People who drank moderate amounts of alcohol or coffee lived longer than those who abstained,” and that “people who were overweight in their 70s lived longer than normal or underweight people did.”
“Because little is known about people who achieve this milestone, the remarkable increase in the number of oldest-old presents a public health priority to promote the quality as well as the quantity of life.”
To gather the information, researchers started the study all the way back in 2003, calling the project The 90+ Study. Studying 1,600 people over the age of 90, the researchers determined the factors that have helped many of them live so long.
After having participants perform neurological, neuropsychological, cognitive, and physical tests every six months, and also gathered information on their diet, daily activities, medical history, and medications, the data found that the people who drank booze and coffee in moderation lived longer than those who didn’t. Additionally, while obesity wasn’t necessarily a key element in many of them, the people who were deemed as being overweight after the age of 70 lived longer than their underweight counterparts, too. Guys, what a time to be alive, right?
For those who might be skeptical, let’s not forget that the oldest veteran in the U.S., a 112-year-old man named Richard Overton, admits to drinking coffee with cream and sugar each morning, while also taking a shot of whiskey to wash it all down. Plus, there have been other examples of older people above the age of 90 or so who swear by drinking a beer once a day, claiming it’s their secret to living so long.
Well, thanks to this new research, that little secret is out in the open, which means we should all be drinking coffee, booze and eating like crap for the rest of our lives. I’m not sure if I’m more excited about the fact that I know this now, or if I’m happiest about knowing that, if I stick to such a plan, I’m definitely going to live to be 115 years old? Either way, hell yeah, let the fun begin each day.