Lifestyle Beats Genetics on Path to Premature Death, Study Finds

February 19, 2025

crowd of people walking on a sidewalk

(Bloomberg via MSN) – Environmental and lifestyle factors play a far greater role than genetics in determining the likelihood of dying young, according to the largest study yet to untangle the contributions of nature and nurture to healthy aging.

A range of external factors including exercise and smoking — collectively dubbed the “exposome” — was almost 10 times more likely than genetic risk factors to explain premature mortality, scientists from the University of Oxford and Massachusetts General Hospital said in the Nature Medicine journal. (Read More)