If a person’s genetics make them more likely to die early, adopting a healthy lifestyle can significantly reduce that risk, according to a new study.
The risk could be reduced by approximately 62% in the case of people with a genetic predisposition, say the researchers.
A new study, carried out by a team of researchers from China, shows that adopting a healthy lifestyle can reduce the risk of early death by 62%, writes CNN. The report was published on April 29 in the journal BMJ Evidence Based Medicine and explored how longevity and healthy living are linked.
The researchers gave each individual a polygenetic risk score, which is a score that summarizes the presence of multiple genes that have been found to have an impact on how long people live, according to the study.
Study participants were also given a score based on how well they adopted a healthy lifestyle, and were then monitored for an average of 13 years to see if they had a short, intermediate or long lifespan .
Following the study, the data concluded that all participants, regardless of their genetic risks, were 78% more likely to die prematurely if they had an unhealthy lifestyle.
In addition, people who had both a genetic risk for a short life span and an unhealthy lifestyle were twice as likely to die prematurely as those with no genetic risk and a healthier lifestyle, a said Dr. Xue Li, dean of the School of Public Health at Zhejian Univeristy School of Medicine in China.
Factors that can prolong life Dr. Xue Li said, according to CNN, that people who have a genetic risk for a shorter life can extend it by meeting four factors: “absence of current smoking, regular physical activity, adequate sleep duration and a diet healthy.
“Adhering to a healthy lifestyle could substantially mitigate the reduction in life expectancy for people with a genetic predisposition to a shorter life span,” Li said.
In the USA, regular physical activity requires 150 minutes of movement per week, and the optimal duration of sleep is 7-8 hours per night. Also, for a healthier and longer life, many studies have shown that the Mediterranean diet, which focuses on a plant-based cuisine with an emphasis on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, seeds and olive oil, is the key .
The study was carried out on a sample of over 350,000 people, from whom information was collected about their genetics, education, socio-economic status and disease history.
