If your genetics put you at higher risk of early death, a healthy lifestyle can help you combat the significantly defective genes, according to a new study conducted in China and published in the medical journal BMJ.Many studies in the past have already shown the connection between a healthy lifestyle and longevity while emphasizing the genetic component in life expectancy. The new study conducted at Zhejiang University School of Medicine in China investigated how the two come together.
The researchers collected data from over 350,000 people of European descent. The information included data on their genetics, education, socioeconomic status and disease history. The researchers gave each subject a genetic risk score, which is a score that summarizes the presence of multiple genes that have been found to influence a person’s lifespan. Study participants were also given a score based on how well they adhered to healthy lifestyle principles. The researchers then followed the subjects for an average of 13 years to check their life expectancy.
The findings showed all subjects, regardless of their genetic risks, had a 78% higher risk of early death if they had an unhealthy lifestyle. Those with a genetic risk for a short lifespan, who also had an unhealthy lifestyle, were twice as likely to die early than those without a genetic risk and a healthy lifestyle. The studies also showed that those who had an innate genetic predisposition to diseases, were able to reduce the risk of premature mortality by 62% thanks to adopting a healthy lifestyle. A calculation showed that this is an extension of life expectancy of up to 5 and a half years.
The researchers also identified four factors that had the greatest impact on reducing the risk of premature mortality: regular physical activity, adequate sleep duration, a healthy diet and avoiding smoking. “We are born with our genes that will remain in our bodies as they are for the rest of our lives,” explains Prof. Eitan Friedman, an expert in internal medicine and genetics and director of the Genetics Institute at Asuta Tel Aviv Medical Center.
“There is no element, neither diet nor physical activity, that can change the genes that we will inherit to our child. What may change is the expression of the genes – for example, the proteins they produce and the expression of genetics in the body’s tissues. These changes are called epigenetic changes that may be affected by physical activity, Nutrition, smoking, alcohol, and even air pollution,” he said.
“The genes in our bodies are involved in each of our characteristics as human beings,” adds Prof. Friedman, “they determine the color of the skin, the shade of the eyes, whether we are shy, stubborn, prone to developing depression or chronic diseases. But not everyone who has a certain genetic signature, will inevitably carry it. The expression of the genes, the epigenetics, may have a decisive effect on the course of our lives, and therefore it is logical that our lifestyle may also affect the expression of the genes, and enable a life with a minimum of chronic morbidity.”