Study: Lifestyle shapes ageing more than genetics
A large Oxford University study finds that environmental and lifestyle factors influence how fast the body ages and the risk of premature death far more than genetic predisposition does.
Researchers have published a study in the journal Nature Medicine analysing data from nearly half a million people in England, combining genetic information, medical histories and details about daily habits and living conditions.
The team examined around 165 different risk factors linked to environment and heredity, assessing how each relates to 22 age-related diseases as well as the likelihood of premature death.
Environment outweighs genes
The findings show that the surroundings people live in and their daily habits affect the body's ageing process far more strongly than previously assumed. According to Oxford University professor Cornelia van Duijn, one of the study's authors, environmental factors account for 17% of the variation in death risk, while genetic predisposition explains less than 2%.
The professor stressed this does not mean genes play no role in health. However, the data suggest that in most cases, a person's daily choices and living environment shape health risks considerably more than has typically been assumed.
The finding carries added weight at a time when slowing ageing has become a sprawling industry, spanning everything from dietary supplements to beauty treatments promising longer, healthier lives. While science still cannot fully halt the ageing process, the study's authors note that its pace may be easier to influence than expected - simply by adjusting everyday habits and living conditions.
