Mixed
Adherence to a combination of low-risk behavioral factors (vegetarian diet, high physical activity, frequent nut consumption, moderate BMI, never smoking, and HRT for postmenopausal women) increases life expectancy by approximately 10 years compared to high-risk behavioral profiles.
Your daily choices regarding food, movement, and weight have a massive, compounding effect on how long you live. You don't need to be perfect; even adopting intermediate levels of healthy behaviors (like eating vegetables, moving regularly, and maintaining a moderate weight) can add years to your life compared to high-risk habits. Focus on consistent, moderate improvements across these areas rather than chasing perfection in one.
The sum of these independent effects (9.7 years in men and 10.4 years in women) is similar to those predicted in subjects who have contrasting values for all variables simultaneously... when all variables are at either low- or high-risk values, the differences in the expected ages at death are 10.8 years (men) and 9.8 years (women).
Why this rating
Large cohort (n=34,192), long follow-up (12 years), multivariate analysis controlling for confounders, though observational design limits causal certainty.
Source
Ten Years of Life
Gary E. Fraser et al. · Archives of Internal Medicine · 2001
DOI 10.1001/archinte.161.13.1645
Related findings · Mixed
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This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →