An interesting article about young women and their habits– according to a study done by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, young women with healthy habits are less likely to develop coronary heart disease or cardiovascular risk factors as they age,

They looked at six criteria in women aged 27-44 years of age

nonsmoker

normal body mass index

physical activity of at least 2.5 hours weekly

television viewing of 7 hours or less weekly

moderate alcohol consumption

and a healthy diet —

These women had almost no heart disease and low rates of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol after 20 years’ follow-up.

Compared with women who met none of the criteria, those meeting all six had a 92% reduction in risk for coronary heart disease and a 66% reduction in CV risk factors. Of note, only about 5% of study participants met all six criteria.