Healthy lifestyles compensate for genetic predisposition: +5 years of life

Lifestyle can compensate for the disadvantages of a poor genetic predisposition. Even people who have a genetic profile that exposes them to a higher risk of premature death, in fact, can turn their luck around and gain more than 5 years of life by adhering to healthy lifestyles: not smoking, avoiding alcohol, having a proper diet, exercising. This was the result of an international study published in the journal BMJ Evidence- Based Medicine.

The research involved over 350,000 people, classifying them on the basis of their genetic profile and lifestyle. The first finding the researchers arrived at was that habits weigh more heavily than genetics on life expectancy: people with unhealthy lifestyles had a 78% higher risk of dying prematurely (before the age of 75) than those with healthy lifestyles. Genetics, on the other hand, only increased the likelihood of early death by 21%. Things get much more complicated when a person with a negative genetic profile has unhealthy lifestyles: in that case, the risk of dying before the age of 75 is more than double.

What is more important, however, is that when a person with bad genetics adheres to healthy lifestyles their risk is reduced by 54%. Translated into years, this equates to 5.2 years of life gained. "Public health policies to promote healthy lifestyles could be a powerful complement to health care and decrease the impact of genetic factors on human lifespan," the researchers write.

In the same hours that the study was published, another research - in this case conducted by the WHO European Office - confirmed that, as far as lifestyles are concerned, the pandemic had a destructive effect, especially in children. The research showed that, during the pandemic, for 35 per cent of 7-9 year olds, time spent watching TV, using video games or social media increased; for 28 per cent, time spent in outdoor activities decreased. The percentage of children perceived to be overweight by their parents also doubled, from 8 to 16 per cent. In some respects, things were even worse in Italy, which was one of the countries where time spent outside was reduced the most (-40%) and there was a larger increase in the percentage of overweight perceived by parents, from 10 to 25%. The consumption of fruit and vegetables also fell and the consumption of sweet and salty snacks increased.