Research suggests that people who are genetically predisposed to short lives can live about five years longer if they practice a healthy lifestyle.
In the first study of its kind, researchers wanted to assess how exercise, a healthy diet, getting enough sleep, and quitting smoking could improve chances of survival.
The study of more than 350,000 Brits found that regardless of their lifestyle, people with a high genetic risk of shortening their life expectancy were five minutes more likely to die younger than those with a lower genetic risk. of 1 (21%) was shown to be higher.
Meanwhile, people with unhealthy lifestyles have a 78% increased chance of dying prematurely, regardless of whether they have genes that shorten their lifespan.
People with both an unhealthy lifestyle and genes that indicate a short lifespan have more than twice the risk of dying early compared to people with more fortunate genes and a healthy lifestyle.
But the good news for these people is that their lifestyles actually have a significant degree of control over what happens, according to findings from experts at the University of Edinburgh and China’s Zhejiang University School of Medicine.
Genetic risks of shorter lifespans and premature death can be offset by about 62% by a healthier lifestyle.
“Participants with a high genetic risk could increase their life expectancy by approximately 5.22 years at age 40 by adopting a good lifestyle,” the experts said.
It turns out that the “optimal lifestyle combination” for longevity is smoking cessation, regular physical activity, enough sleep, and a healthy diet.
Researchers looked at participants’ polygenic risk scores (thousands of genetic variations across a person’s genome) to estimate their risk of developing a particular disease.
Individual genetic variations have a small effect on a person’s risk of disease.
But by looking at all mutations together, scientists can estimate the overall risk of developing the disease.
People are divided into three genetically determined lifespan categories: long-lived (20.1%), intermediate (60.1%), and short-lived (19.8%), as well as preferred (23.1%) and intermediate (55.6%). categorized into three lifestyle score categories. cents), unfavorable (21.3 percent).
They then looked at it alongside lifestyle factors such as diet, exercise, sleep, and whether or not you smoke.
The study, published in the journal BMJ Evidence Based Medicine, followed people for an average of 13 years, during which time 24,239 people died.
Matt Lambert, senior health information officer at the World Cancer Research Fund, said: “This new research shows that despite genetic factors, eating a balanced, nutritious diet and staying active “This shows that living a healthy lifestyle can help you live longer.” It has also been shown to reduce the risk of cancer. ”
