Anyone looking for motivation this holiday season should check out the current issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. It includes results from two large federal studies linking exercise and a Mediterranean diet with a reduced risk of death.

Investigators reached that conclusion after reviewing nearly 400,000 questionnaires completed between 1995 and 1996. The focus was men and women age 50 to 71. Five years later they followed up.

Turns out those who reported eating a diet most like the Mediterranean diet were less likely than others to be dead within five years due to cancer, heart disease or other causes. The diet’s elements include plenty of vegetables, legumes, fruits, nuts, whole grains, fish, monounsaturated fats, alcohol and meat.

Exercise also cut the death risk. Folks who exercised most days for at least 30 minutes were 27 percent less likely than non-exercising peers to die within five years. Vigorous exercise cut the risk even more. Three 20-minute sessions each week translated into a 32 percent reduction.

This will likely be enough to get me moving after work tonight.