Italia
An international study shows that adhering to healthy lifestyles can increase life expectancy even for those with an unfavorable genetic predisposition
by Rome editorial team
Lifestyle is able to compensate for the disadvantages resulting from a bad genetic predisposition. Even people who have a genetic profile that exposes them to a greater risk of premature death, in fact, can reverse their fate and gain over 5 years of life by adhering to healthy lifestyles: not smoking, avoiding alcohol, having correct nutrition, physical activity. This result was achieved by an international study published in the journal BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine.
The greater weight of lifestyle habits on genetics
The research involved over 350 thousand people, classifying them on the basis of their genetic profile and lifestyle. The first discovery the researchers reached is that habits have a greater weight than genetics on life expectancy: people with harmful lifestyles had a 78% higher risk of premature death (before the age of 75) compared to those with healthy lifestyles. Genetics, on the other hand, only increases the chances of early death by 21%. Things become considerably more complicated when a person with a negative genetic profile has unhealthy lifestyles: in this case the risk of dying before turning 75 is more than double.
Over 5 years of life gained
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 healthcare and lessen the impact of genetic factors on human lifespan,” the researchers write.
The negative effects of the pandemic on children
In the same hours in which the study was published, another research – in this case conducted by the European Office of the WHO – confirmed that, as regards lifestyles, the pandemic had a destructive effect, especially in children. Research has shown that, during the pandemic, the time spent watching TV, using video games or social media increased for 35% of children aged 7-9; for 28% the time spent in outdoor activities was reduced. The percentage of children perceived as overweight by their parents also doubled, going from 8 to 16%. In some respects, things went even worse in Italy, which was one of the countries in which the time spent outside was reduced the most (-40%) and there was a larger increase in overweight perceived by parents, which went from 10 to 25%. The consumption of fruit and vegetables has also decreased and that of sweet and savory snacks has increased.
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