Men who ate a good diet 25 years ago enjoy reduced healthcare costs today.

Many studies have suggested that eating plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables is beneficial to long term health. Now, for the first time, the Chicago Western Electric Study reveals that a healthy diet also reduces healthcare costs in the future.

In the Study, men working for the Chicago Western Electric Company in 1957-58 were asked about their diet at the time and then followed up for 25 years. At the start, they were aged 40 to 55 years old and were free of heart disease. The men were classified into three groups with respect to fruit and vegetable consumption: high (more than 42 cups a month), middle (14-42 cups a month) and low (less than 42 cups a month).

The men in the low group had the highest healthcare costs in the period 1984 to 2000, at 14,655 dollars a year. In the middle group, the figure was 12,622 dollars and in the top group, healthcare costs were lowest at 11,416 dollars per year, on average. The study suggests that if you adopt a healthy lifestyle now, you will cost less to look after when you get older!

Source

American Heart Association Asia Pacific Meeting 9th June 2003