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What you eat at age 40 can affect your quality of life at age 70
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
We all want to age gracefully, but a new study has found that fewer than one in 10 people will live disease-free and in good physical, cognitive and mental health into their 70s and beyond. The study suggests that eating a healthy diet in midlife may increase your chances of achieving healthy ageing.
A study based on data from more than 100,000 people over 30 years found that people who followed a healthy diet from age 40 onwards were 43% to 84% more likely to be in good physical and mental health at age 70 than those who did not.
"People who followed healthy dietary patterns in midlife, particularly those rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats, were significantly more likely to achieve healthy aging," said Anne-Julie Tessier, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. "This suggests that what you eat in midlife may play a big role in how well you age."
Tessier presented the findings at NUTRITION 2024, the American Society for Nutrition's annual flagship conference, held June 29-July 2 in Chicago.
The researchers found that high intakes of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, unsaturated fats, nuts, legumes, and low-fat dairy were associated with greater chances of healthy aging. However, high intakes of trans fats, sodium, total meat, red meat, and processed meat were associated with lower chances of healthy aging.
While many previous studies have shown that a healthy diet can help prevent chronic disease, the new study is unique in its focus on healthy aging, defined not only as the absence of disease but also as the ability to live independently and enjoy a good quality of life as we age.
Researchers analyzed data from more than 106,000 people since 1986. Participants were at least 39 years old and free of chronic diseases at the start of the study, providing information about their diet through questionnaires every four years. As of 2016, nearly half of the study participants had died, and only 9.2% had survived to age 70 or older, free of chronic diseases and in good physical, cognitive, and mental health.
The comparison showed that people in the top quintile of adherence to the Alternative Healthy Eating Index were 84% more likely to achieve healthy aging compared to those in the bottom quintile. Strong correlations were also found with other dietary models, such as the Empirical Dietary Index for Hyperinsulinemia, the Planetary Health Diet, the Alternative Mediterranean Diet, the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) and others.
The study highlights the importance of not only preventing chronic disease, but also promoting overall healthy aging as a long-term goal. Tessier noted that each of the healthy dietary patterns was associated with overall healthy aging, as well as individual components of healthy aging, including physical health, cognitive function, and mental health.