Healthy rules

A British report from Cancer Research UK concluded that as smoking rates drop and obesity rates rise, being severely overweight is poised to become the leading cause of cancer by the year 2043. Considering projections that half of all adults in the United States will be obese by the year 2030, we are likely to see similar trends.

We all know smoking is one of the worst things you can do for your health, but a more stealth killer may be having the same level of impact: sugar. Just as ci******es have long been linked to preventable mortality from cancer, heart disease, and stroke, researchers have increasingly found that consuming added sugar leads to similarly deadly conditions.

According to a 2016 report in the journal Nutrients, too much sugar leads to "a variety of chronic diseases including obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) as well as cognitive decline and even some cancers."

We all know that staying active is key to a healthy lifestyle, but recent studies have shown just how important it is. "When compared with the lowest [athletic] performers, elite performance was associated with an 80 percent reduction in mortality risk," reads a 2018 study published in the journal JAMA Network Open. "In addition, the adjusted mortality risk of reduced performance was comparable to, if not significantly greater than, traditional clinical risk factors, such as coronary artery disease, diabetes, and smoking."

If you're a smoker, but not yet middle age, let this be your wakeup call: A 2002 report from the American Journal of Public Health suggests that roughly 90 percent of the increased mortality risk associated with smoking ci******es can be stopped if a smoker quits before the age of 35. Past middle age and still hooked? You can still reap the benefits of increased longevity by quitting today.

It's well known that laughter can be a valuable coping tool for those suffering from medical conditions. But according to one 2016 study published in The Journal of Epidemiology, it could also directly contribute to a healthier heart. Among male and female study subjects over the age of 65, those who reported laughing daily had drastically lower rates of cardiovascular disease and stroke.