Why 36 to 46 is the most important time of your life for your health
For many of us, our 20s are a decade of hedonism – of giving barely a passing thought to our health. It's the era where we might smoke, binge-drink and shun exercise.
But new research shows that by our mid-30s, this kind of party lifestyle will take its toll. Researchers in Finland found there were relatively few consequences for heavy drinking and smoking in people's 20s, but those who continued these habits found their health begin to deteriorate at 36. Over the course of their lifetime, they were found to result in a plethora of health problems including higher rates of depression, cancer, heart disease, lung disease and early death.
In fact, the decade from 36 to 46 is a pivotal one for our future wellbeing. 'What you do in that window shapes the health you'll experience in the decades to come,' says Dr Philip Borg, an NHS oncologist and founder of The Longevity Doctor, a clinic specialising in preventative medicine.
Accumulative damage
It's in our mid to late 30s that we stop 'getting away' with unhealthy behaviour, as the cumulative effects of our lifestyle begin to show their impact.
'Chronic diseases are caused by long-term, silent processes like inflammation, triggered by habits including poor diet, stress, drinking, smoking and lack of exercise, which can slowly damage your cells, arteries and brain, starting decades before symptoms appear,' says Borg.
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Prior to this age, much of the damage can be undone – for instance, people who quit smoking by the age of 35 were shown in a 2022 study of half-a-million Americans to have a similar long-term mortality risk to people who have never smoked.
But the rates of lung cancer caused by smoking begin to rise steadily in the 40-44 age range, steadily for women and more rapidly for men, according to Cancer Research UK.
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News.com.au
5 hours ago
- News.com.au
New evidence ‘proves' Lucy Letby is not the killer
Lucy Letby's lawyer Mark McDonald said that when he first met his client, he took her at her word when she said she was innocent. Now, the British barrister has claimed he has fresh evidence proving that the convicted neonatal nurse is a victim, not a killer. He believes Letby, the notorious baby murderer who is serving 15 whole-life orders for killing seven babies, has suffered 'the biggest miscarriage of justice in the criminal justice history of the United Kingdom,' he told 60 Minutes on Sunday night. 'The evidence that went before the jury, has been demolished now by the fresh evidence. And we need to get back to the criminal Court of Appeal,' he claimed. Letby, 35, who also tried to kill seven other infants – including one baby twice – at Countess of Chester Hospital, Cheshire, in 2015 and 2016, is destined to die in jail. Concerns about the nurse were initially sparked in 2015, following a surge in deaths at the National Health Service hospital that was three times the yearly average. In 2017, police began their investigation, and Dr Dewi Evans, a retired pediatrician, began investigating all the baby deaths and collapses in the neonatal ward, and led police to suspect foul play. Seven deaths and nine unexplained collapses were referred for further investigation. 'These were babies who were under control. In other words, they were not requiring huge amounts of oxygen. They were not requiring breathing support. They were quite stable, and suddenly from being quite stable, they suddenly would collapse,' Dr Evans explained. Police had a suspect they were closing in on, Letby, the then 28-year-old who had worked at the hospital since 2012. In 2018, police arrested the nurse and questioned her regarding the suspicious deaths and collapses that occurred while she was on duty. Although she denied any wrongdoing, a search of her home revealed incriminating evidence, including hundreds of hospital case notes – some relating to the children who had died – along with handwritten notes, one of which Letby had written in capital letters: 'I AM EVIL I DID THIS'. It was found that the nurse also repeatedly looked up the families of her victims on social media. Following the longest criminal trial in British history and a retrial on one count of attempted murder, Letby was sentenced to 15 life sentences for her crimes last year, and her bid to appeal was rejected. Dr Evans was the key prosecution witness, and his medical evidence was vital to the Crown's case against Letby. Having ruled out all other explanations, he concluded Letby was harming some babies by injecting air into their bloodstream and others by forcing milk and air into their stomachs. Two babies were poisoned using insulin. But Mr McDonald, Letby's lawyer, has since claimed the case had 'no direct evidence against' his client. He said the medical evidence was disproved by a team of international experts he put together to examine the babies' cases. Professor Neena Modi, a leading British neonatologist on the panel, said they found no evidence of murder. 'What jumped out at us, absolutely jumped out at us were these very, very plausible alternative explanations that did not involve wrongdoing of any kind,' she said. 'In each and every one of these cases, there was a very, very plausible alternative explanation.' She claimed the babies died from natural causes or a lack of proper care and called for the case to be reviewed. Mr McDonald also stated that other experts dismissed the insulin cases after it was found that the tests which helped convict Letby were proven to yield false results. He claims to have fresh evidence, and he is confident it will exonerate his client. 'We have new hope here, and she sees it, but she also sees it as her last chance, her last chance from her point of view to get the truth out there. All Lucy Letby wants is a fair hearing,' he said. But Dr Evans is sure that the truth has already been heard and there's 'no new evidence', just 'a new opinion'. 'And the opinion has not been tested in court,' he added. He said he was absolutely certain of Letby's guilt and believes 'She's the worst female serial killer in English history'.
The Age
3 days ago
- The Age
Why 36 to 46 is the most important time of your life for your health
For many of us, our 20s are a decade of hedonism – of giving barely a passing thought to our health. It's the era where we might smoke, binge-drink and shun exercise. But new research shows that by our mid-30s, this kind of party lifestyle will take its toll. Researchers in Finland found there were relatively few consequences for heavy drinking and smoking in people's 20s, but those who continued these habits found their health begin to deteriorate at 36. Over the course of their lifetime, they were found to result in a plethora of health problems including higher rates of depression, cancer, heart disease, lung disease and early death. In fact, the decade from 36 to 46 is a pivotal one for our future wellbeing. 'What you do in that window shapes the health you'll experience in the decades to come,' says Dr Philip Borg, an NHS oncologist and founder of The Longevity Doctor, a clinic specialising in preventative medicine. Accumulative damage It's in our mid to late 30s that we stop 'getting away' with unhealthy behaviour, as the cumulative effects of our lifestyle begin to show their impact. 'Chronic diseases are caused by long-term, silent processes like inflammation, triggered by habits including poor diet, stress, drinking, smoking and lack of exercise, which can slowly damage your cells, arteries and brain, starting decades before symptoms appear,' says Borg. Loading Prior to this age, much of the damage can be undone – for instance, people who quit smoking by the age of 35 were shown in a 2022 study of half-a-million Americans to have a similar long-term mortality risk to people who have never smoked. But the rates of lung cancer caused by smoking begin to rise steadily in the 40-44 age range, steadily for women and more rapidly for men, according to Cancer Research UK.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Why 36 to 46 is the most important time of your life for your health
For many of us, our 20s are a decade of hedonism – of giving barely a passing thought to our health. It's the era where we might smoke, binge-drink and shun exercise. But new research shows that by our mid-30s, this kind of party lifestyle will take its toll. Researchers in Finland found there were relatively few consequences for heavy drinking and smoking in people's 20s, but those who continued these habits found their health begin to deteriorate at 36. Over the course of their lifetime, they were found to result in a plethora of health problems including higher rates of depression, cancer, heart disease, lung disease and early death. In fact, the decade from 36 to 46 is a pivotal one for our future wellbeing. 'What you do in that window shapes the health you'll experience in the decades to come,' says Dr Philip Borg, an NHS oncologist and founder of The Longevity Doctor, a clinic specialising in preventative medicine. Accumulative damage It's in our mid to late 30s that we stop 'getting away' with unhealthy behaviour, as the cumulative effects of our lifestyle begin to show their impact. 'Chronic diseases are caused by long-term, silent processes like inflammation, triggered by habits including poor diet, stress, drinking, smoking and lack of exercise, which can slowly damage your cells, arteries and brain, starting decades before symptoms appear,' says Borg. Loading Prior to this age, much of the damage can be undone – for instance, people who quit smoking by the age of 35 were shown in a 2022 study of half-a-million Americans to have a similar long-term mortality risk to people who have never smoked. But the rates of lung cancer caused by smoking begin to rise steadily in the 40-44 age range, steadily for women and more rapidly for men, according to Cancer Research UK.
