Adding 1.5 years to life may not seem like a lot, but "doing all the right behaviors" could make a difference of 20 years, Aldana said. More than that, the benefits can be seen in improved quality of life, less chronic disease, fewer medications, less hospital time and fewer surgeries.

American men live, on average, 74 years; women, 80. But Seventh-day Adventists, who eschew meat and have healthier lifestyles, live 83 and 86 years, respectively. A study of LDS high priests and their wives who get lots of sleep, don't smoke and exercise frequently says they average 85 and 87 years, respectively, he said.

Barring a quick, traumatic death, people who live to old age have a point at which disability sets in. It could begin with an event, such as a fall and a broken hip. Then problems build and compound until death. With a healthy lifestyle, he said, that onset of disability is delayed, the problems compressed and lessened.

He's hoping to be snowboarding at age 94 with his great-grandchildren when he hits a tree and dies 10 minutes later, Aldana said.

Heralding the link between health and habit sounds simple, but it's a discouraging message to deliver for someone who has studied the effects of lifestyle on health. "I'm pretty convinced that most people really don't care," Aldana said. They think they can do what they want, the doctor will fix them up — perhaps put a stent in a blocked artery — and they'll have an extra five years.

Making needed changes alters the future, he said. "The ability to reverse disease even once it sets up is promising," Aldana said.

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E-mail: lois@desnews.com