Could You Live To Be 90? It Depends On These Two Factors

Body size is one contributing factor to longevity.

live to be 90
Betty White recently celebrated her 97th birthday. Could you live to be 90? (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)
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Betty White recently celebrated her 97th birthday and shows no signs of stopping. Living to be 90, let alone 97, is a huge accomplishment. What are the chances of living to age 90?

According to a new study, height and weight, along with physical activity influence the lifespan of both men and women, CNN reports.

Women who lived to be 90 were, on average, since the age of twenty, were taller and put on less weight over their lifetime than the women who were shorter and heavier, the study found.

Research began in 1986 when more than 7,000 Norwegian women and men between the ages of 55 and 69 were asked about their height and current weight and weight at age 20. They were also asked about their current level of physical activity. The groups were sorted by amount of activity and monitored until they reached the age of 90 or died.

Almost 1,500 participants lived to be at least 90 years old.

Some of the findings were interesting: women who were physically active for more than 60 minutes a day were 21% more likely to live to 90 than those women who only racked up 30 minutes or less exercise per day.

For men, height and weight didn’t appear to factor into living to 90, but the amount of physical activity did. According to CNN: “Men who spent 90 minutes a day or more being active were 39% more likely to live to 90 than men who were physically active for less than 30 minutes. In addition, for each 30 minutes a day the men were active, they were 5% more likely to reach that age.”

On average, life expectancy has increased for most of the world. However, in the US, life expectancy has been on the decline for several years. Drug overdose and suicides have contributed to the decrease, according to the CDC.

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