Vast study shows healthy living could prolong the lives of some by five years
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Never smoking, regular physical activity and diet among factors in a healthy lifestyle.
By Rebecca Thomas, Health Correspondent
Healthy living could outweigh genes which cause some to have shorter lives and help prolong their life by five years, scientists have found.
In the first study of its kind, experts explored how the odds of survival can be improved through exercise, a healthy diet, getting enough sleep and not smoking, despite the huge influence of genetics.
The study involved 353,742 people from the UK Biobank and showed that those with a high genetic risk of a shorter life have a 21% increased risk of early death compared with those with a low genetic risk, regardless of their lifestyle.
Meanwhile, people with unhealthy lifestyles have a 78% increased chance of early death, regardless of their genetic risk.
The study also found that having both an unhealthy lifestyle and shorter lifespan genes more than doubled the risk of early death compared with people with luckier gene...
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