How can we live longer? According to some professors from Stanford University, changes in your physical activity and other lifeway patterns can increase your longevity. By collecting data from physical examination records based on Harvard alumni, these professors were able to research if certain habits or characteristics during youth lead to chronic illness later in life, more specifically coronary heart disease. The main question that was raised was if "individuals of any age can extend their longevity and improve their quality of life by opting for favorable changes in their physical activity habits, personal characteristics, and other lifeway patterns?" (Article pg.1)
             The type of research that was used in this study was applied research. The first step was to have alumni from Harvard University answer a questionnaire and answer a follow-up questionnaire years later. Such questions that alumni answer are how many city blocks they walk, how many stairs they climb, and what different types of sports do they participate in. With that information, the alumni's resting and activity metabolic rates could be calculated. Also factors such as smoking and alcohol consumption are also taken into account. The second step was to place specific alumni into five categories. Those categories included cigarette smokers, heavy weight class, hypertensive/normotensive alcohol drinkers, and early parental deaths. The last step was to review the results from the first questionnaire and the follow-up questionnaire and compare the results. The methods of research were appropriate for meeting the objectives of study. The only flaw with this method of research was based from one specific area of the United States, whereas they should have selected the people from different locations.
             The results were reported in graph and data form. What could be concluded from the gathered results was that smokers had a 72% higher risk of
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