Study Says Alcohol More Important Than Exercise For Living Into Your 90s

File under: Excellent news day.

According to a study by a University of California neurologist, Claudia Kawas, alcohol outranks exercise when it comes to longevity.

In Kawas’ research, which launched in 2003 and comprised some 1,700 subjects, participants who drank two glasses of wine or beer daily were 18 percent more likely to live past 90 years old. Meanwhile, overachievers who exercised 15 to 45 minutes daily were 11 percent likelier to make it beyond 90.

Another unexpected path to a long life is being slightly overweight (e.g., not obese). This increased participants’ odds of living past 90 by 3 percent.

“It’s not bad to be skinny when you’re young, but it’s very bad to be skinny when you’re old,” Kawas reportedly said in her address this weekend at the American Association for the Advancement of Science convention in Austin, Tex.

Kawas’ subjects who engaged in a meaningful hobby for two-plus hours per day were 21 percent likelier to live beyond 90, as were coffee drinkers. Drinking two cups of java per day increased the odds of living past 90 by 10 percent.

Next round’s on you, Father Time.