The people who consistently followed four or five of these behaviors experienced a 60 per cent decline in dementia and cognitive decline—with exercise being the strongest mitigating factor—as well as 70 per cent fewer instances of diabetes, heart disease and stroke, compared with people who followed none.

"The size of reduction in the instance of disease owing to these simple healthy steps has really amazed us and is of enormous importance in an aging population," said Principle Investigator Professor Peter Elwood from Cardiff University's School of Medicine. "What the research shows is that following a healthy lifestyle confers surprisingly large benefits to health—healthy behaviors have a far more beneficial effect than any medical treatment or preventative procedure.

"Taking up and following a healthy lifestyle is, however, the responsibility of the individual. Sadly, the evidence from this study shows that very few people follow a fully healthy lifestyle. Furthermore, our findings reveal that while the number of people who smoke has gone down since the study started, the number of people leading a fully healthy lifestyle has not changed," he added.

Recent surveys indicate that less than one per cent of people in Wales follow a completely healthy lifestyle, based on the five recommended behaviors, and that five per cent of the population follow none of the healthy behaviors; roughly equating to a city with a population the size of Swansea (240,000).

Professor Elwood continued: "If the men had been urged to adopt just one additional healthy behavior at the start of the study 35 years ago, and if only half of them complied, then during the ensuing 35 years there would have been a 13 per cent reduction in dementia, a 12 per cent drop in diabetes, six per cent less vascular disease and a five per cent reduction in deaths."

The Caerphilly Cohort Study recorded the healthy behaviors of 2,235 men aged 45-59 in Caerphilly, South Wales. The study had multiple aims and has been the basis for over 400 research papers in the medical press. One of the most important aims was to examine the relationship between healthy lifestyles, chronic disease and cognitive decline over a 35-year period; and to monitor changes in the take-up of healthy behaviors.

Dr. Doug Brown, Director of Research and Development at the Alzheimer's Society, said: "We have known for some time that what is good for your heart is also good for your head, and this study provides more evidence to show that healthy living could significantly reduce the chances of developing dementia. These large, longitudinal studies are expensive and complicated to run, but are essential to understand how dementia can be prevented. We are calling on the G8 Summit next week to commit to greater funding of important studies such as this one which give us hope for reducing the impact of dementia in the future."

Christopher Allen, Senior Cardiac Nurse at the British Heart Foundation, which part-funded the study, said: "The results of this study overwhelmingly support the notion that adopting a healthy lifestyle reduces your risk of cardiovascular disease and dementia. These findings will hopefully go a long way in encouraging people to carefully consider their lifestyle and how it will impact on their health in later years."

Unhealthy living has accounted for around 10 per cent of the costs of the NHS in Wales since the study first started, while the annual expenditure on prevention and public health services in Wales is estimated to have been £280M.

To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE

ICYMI: Iranian People March in DC in Support of Op Epic Fury and Trump; 'We Will Reclaim Our Country'

Trump's FDA Indicates Move Away from Testing on Dogs, Bunnies, Chimpanzees

Chicago Bulls Dump Player after His Criticism of Pride Month

Finally Confirmed: Michigan Synagogue Car Ramming Was 'Hezbollah-Inspired' Terror Attack

SURPRISE! Zohran Mamdani's New 'Free' Childcare Program is Going to Cost $60,000 Per Child

Courtroom Bombshell: ATF Can't Link Bullet That Killed Charlie Kirk to Suspect's Rifle

FBI: Over 6,200 Missing Children Located, More Than 300 Human Traffickers and 1,700 Child Predators Arrested over Past Year

SCOTUS Rules on Colorado's Ban on 'Conversion Therapy' to Help Gender Dysphoric Individuals

President Trump Shares Letter on Palm Sunday, from Franklin Graham Discussing Salvation

HSLDA Lawyer Warns This Bill Would Create a 'Surveillance State' for Homeschooling Families

Major Airports Return to Normal as TSA Workers Get Paid

GROTESQUE: Barack Obama's Orwellian Push for Virginia Redistricting Is Something to Behold

Not 'Leaderless': the 'No Kings' Protests Are Well-Funded by These Notorious Billionaires

Ilhan Omar's Connection to Genocide in Somaliland, and Fraud in the US; Will She Be Deported?

Prayer Alert: Nigerian Christians Massacred on Palm Sunday

Iran's Exiled Crown Prince Receives Standing Ovation at CPAC from Huge Iranian-American Audience [Watch Full Speech]

Campus Awakening Continues: Baptisms in Pickup Trucks, Physical Healings Reported in UniteUS College Revival at Pitt

Explosive Intel Report: Ukraine War Aid May Have Been Funneled to Biden Campaign, DNC

Indicted Democrat Rep. Found Guilty of More Than 2 Dozen Ethics Violations; Faces Possible Expulsion from Congress

Congress Requests Documents after Reports on California Hospice Fraud