Healthy Lifestyle Boosts Eye Health

Women who exercise and consume a healthy diet are significantly less likely to develop age-related macular degeneration (AMD), one of the most common causes of vision loss in the elderly, according to a new study published in the Archives of Ophthalmology.


Researchers at the University of Wisconsin, Madison reviewed data from the Carotenoids in Age-Related Eye Disease Study, an ancillary study of the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) Observational Study. Data was included for 1,313 participants, ages 55 to 74; the women provided information on physical activity and lifetime smoking history, and were assigned a score on a modified 2005 Healthy Eating Index (HEI) based on responses to a food frequency questionnaire administered at baseline of the WHI study. The HEI is a measure of diet quality that assesses the nutrient adequacy of the diet based on the five major food groups of the original Food Pyramid, aspects of the diet that should be limited, and a measure of variety in food choices.

Six years later, researchers took stereoscopic fundus photographs to assess the presence and severity of AMD. A total of 202 women had AMD, 94 percent of whom had early AMD, the primary outcome. In multivariate models, women whose diets were in the highest quintile compared to the lowest quintile on the HEI were 46 percent less likely to have early AMD. Further, women in the highest quintile compared to the lowest quintile for physical activity had 54 percent lower odds for early AMD. Finally, while smoking was not independently associated with AMD, having a combination of the three healthy behaviors—not smoking, consuming a healthy diet and getting physical activity—was associated with 71 percent lower odds for AMD compared to women with high-risk scores.