Proof you CAN outrun bad genes with just four lifestyle tweaks - and it'll give you an extra five years of life

People genetically predisposed to a shorter life can live around five years longer if they follow a healthy lifestyle, a study suggests.

In the first study of its kind, researchers wanted to assess how the odds of survival can be improved through exercise, a healthy diet, getting enough sleep and not smoking.

The study, involving more than 350,000 Brits, showed those with a high genetic risk of a shorter life are a fifth (21 per cent) more likely to die young than those with a low genetic risk, regardless of their lifestyle.

In the first study of its kind, researchers wanted to assess how the odds of survival can be improved through exercise, a healthy diet, getting enough sleep and not smoking. Stock

Meanwhile, people with unhealthy lifestyles have a 78 per cent increased chance of early death, whether they had life-shortening genes or not.

Having both an unhealthy lifestyle and genes indicative of a shorter lifespan more than doubled the risk of early death compared with people with luckier genes and healthy lifestyles.

But the good news for these people is that lifestyle did have a significant degree of control over what happened, according to the findings by experts at the University of Edinburgh and the Zhejiang University School of Medicine in China.

Any genetic risk of a shorter lifespan or premature death may be offset by a healthier lifestyle by around 62 per cent.

The experts said: 'Participants with high genetic risk could prolong approximately 5.22 years of life expectancy at age 40 with a favourable lifestyle.'

The 'optimal lifestyle combination' for a longer life was found to be never smoking, regular physical activity, adequate sleep duration, and healthy diet.

Researchers looked at participants polygenic risk score – thousands of genetic variants across a person’s genome to estimate their risk of developing a specific disease.

Each individual genetic variant has a small effect on a person’s disease risk.

But by looking at all the variants together, scientists can estimate their overall risk of developing a disease.

People were grouped into three genetically determined lifespan categories including long (20.1 per cent), intermediate (60.1 per cent), and short (19.8 per cent), and into three lifestyle score categories including favourable (23.1 per cent), intermediate (55.6 per cent), and unfavourable (21.3 per cent).

They then looked at it alongside lifestyle factors such as diet, exercise, sleep and if they smoked.

Published in the journal BMJ Evidence Based Medicine, the study followed people for 13 years on average, during which time 24,239 deaths occurred.

Matt Lambert, senior health information officer at the World Cancer Research Fund, said: ‘This new research shows that, despite genetic factors, living a healthy lifestyle, including eating a balanced nutritious diet and keeping active, can help us live longer. We also know it can reduce the risk of cancer.’

WHAT SHOULD A BALANCED DIET LOOK LIKE?

Meals should be based on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates, ideally wholegrain, according to the NHS

• Eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day. All fresh, frozen, dried and canned fruit and vegetables count

• Base meals on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates, ideally wholegrain

• 30 grams of fibre a day: This is the same as eating all of the following: 5 portions of fruit and vegetables, 2 whole-wheat cereal biscuits, 2 thick slices of wholemeal bread and large baked potato with the skin on

• Have some dairy or dairy alternatives (such as soya drinks) choosing lower fat and lower sugar options

• Eat some beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins (including 2 portions of fish every week, one of which should be oily)

• Choose unsaturated oils and spreads and consuming in small amounts

• Drink 6-8 cups/glasses of water a day

• Adults should have less than 6g of salt and 20g of saturated fat for women or 30g for men a day

Source: NHS Eatwell Guide