Eight Habits and How They Affect Your Life Expectancy

You already know that some of the things you do on a daily basis aren't GOOD for you. But this might help put it in perspective. Here are eight daily habits, and how they affect the life expectancy of the average American.

1. Smoking a pack of cigarettes a day takes seven to eight years off your life.

2. Having one drink a day actually INCREASES your life expectancy by about a year. But every additional drink per day decreases it by about eight-and-a-half months for men, and seven months for women.

3. Every ten pounds over your optimal weight cuts about a year off your life.

4. Watching two hours of TV a day cuts your life expectancy by about eight months if you're a man, and ten months if you're a woman.

5. If you eat one portion of red meat a day, you'll live about 14 months less than you would if you DIDN'T eat red meat.

6. Eating five servings of fruits and vegetables a day increases life expectancy by 4.3 years for men, and 3.8 years for women.

7. Drinking two or three cups of coffee a day INCREASES your life expectancy by about a year.

8. Getting just 20 minutes of moderate exercise a day, on average, extends your life by about two years.