Did you know that the way you live your life can have a bigger impact on your health than the genes you’re born with? A new study from Oxford Population Health has discovered that things like exercise, where you live, and whether you smoke have a greater effect on how long you live than your DNA!
What Did Scientists Find?
Researchers studied nearly half a million people in the UK to figure out what influences aging and health. They looked at 164 environmental factors (things in our surroundings, like pollution, lifestyle, and income) and compared them with genetic risk scores for 22 major diseases. Here’s what they found:
🧬 Genes only explain about 2% of a person’s risk of dying early.
🌍 Environmental factors (like lifestyle) explain 17%—that’s a lot more!
🚭 Smoking is the biggest risk, linked to 21 different diseases.
🏃 Physical activity helps prevent 17 diseases, showing how exercise keeps you strong.
🏠 Where you live and how much money your family has can affect health, being tied to 19 diseases.
👶 Your childhood matters—things like your weight at age 10 and whether your mom smoked while pregnant can impact your health for decades!
Why Is This Important?
Scientists used a special “aging clock” that measures how fast a person is aging based on proteins in their blood. This helped them figure out that certain lifestyle choices can speed up or slow down aging.
While genes are important—especially for things like dementia and breast cancer—we have a lot of control over diseases of the heart, lungs, and liver. That means we can make healthy choices to live longer and feel better!
What Can We Do?
The study shows that most health risks are preventable! Here’s what we can all do to stay healthy:
✅ Avoid smoking—it’s one of the biggest health risks.
✅ Stay active—run, play, and move every day!
✅ Eat healthy foods—nutritious meals keep your body strong.
✅ Take care of your surroundings—clean air and good living conditions matter.
Science Is Amazing!
This exciting study was done by top scientists from Oxford University and other research centers around the world. Thanks to their work, we now understand more about how to take care of ourselves and live long, happy lives!
Want to read more cool discoveries? Keep checking out the Science News section for more amazing updates from the world of science! 🚀🔬
