Eight Simple Lifestyle Habits Can Add Over a Decade to Life Expectancy, Major UK Study Reveals
A groundbreaking study involving more than 260,000 Britons has demonstrated that adhering to eight straightforward lifestyle habits can extend life expectancy by more than ten years. The research, which analysed data from the UK Biobank, found that scoring well on the 'Life's Essential 8' checklist can slash the risk of death from all causes by a significant margin.
What Are Life's Essential 8?
Developed by experts at the American Heart Association, Life's Essential 8 comprises eight key factors that contribute to cardiovascular health. These include:
- Diet
- Physical activity
- Nicotine exposure
- Sleep duration
- Weight management
- Cholesterol levels
- Blood sugar control
- Blood pressure regulation
Participants in the study completed a brief five-minute survey to receive scores between 0 and 100 for each category, with their overall score calculated as an average. The findings, published in the American Journal of Preventive Cardiology, tracked the health of 264,675 individuals from the UK Biobank over an average period of nearly 15 years.
Significant Reduction in Mortality Risk
The study revealed that for every ten-point increase in the Life's Essential 8 score, the risk of death from all causes decreased by an impressive 20%. Individuals with high cardiovascular health scores, classified as 80 or above, lived an average of 11.63 years longer than those with low scores.
Even achieving a moderate score, ranging from 50 to 80, was associated with living 7.64 years longer compared to those scoring below 50. Remarkably, these benefits extended to patients with existing cardiometabolic conditions, such as type-2 diabetes or heart disease.
How to Achieve High Scores
A high score on the Life's Essential 8 scale typically requires:
- Getting seven to nine hours of sleep per night
- Engaging in 150 minutes of physical activity weekly
- Never smoking or having quit more than five years ago
- Maintaining a healthy, balanced diet
In contrast, a moderate score might apply to someone who is slightly overweight, sleeps six to seven hours nightly, performs 30 to 120 minutes of moderate activity weekly, and consumes plenty of fruits and vegetables but also regularly eats ultra-processed foods.
Low scores are associated with sleeping less than five hours regularly, smoking, leading a sedentary lifestyle, and having a diet high in ultra-processed foods.
Quality of Life Improvements
Researchers from The Third Xiangya Hospital in China emphasised that high scores are 'significantly associated with reduced all-cause mortality risk and increased life expectancy', regardless of whether individuals have underlying cardiometabolic conditions. They noted that people with good scores also enjoy more years in good health.
A separate analysis of UK Biobank data indicated that middle-aged individuals who performed well experienced more years without major chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, and dementia. This suggests that high cardiovascular health may not only prolong longevity but also enhance the quality of ageing.
Expert Commentary and Broader Implications
Professor Bryan Williams, chief scientific and medical officer at the British Heart Foundation, commented: 'This large-scale study in a UK population clearly shows that prioritising cardiovascular health pays off in terms of increasing healthy life expectancy.'
He added: 'Maintaining good cardiovascular health doesn't just prevent disease, it also slows progression of any established disease, cuts early mortality risk and can add many healthy years to life. These simple, everyday tweaks you can make to your lifestyle, as well as getting blood pressure and cholesterol checked and treated when needed, can make a real and measurable difference.'
Previous research has linked maintaining a good Life's Essential 8 score to having a biological age six years younger than one's chronological age, indicating decelerated biological ageing. The researchers concluded that focusing on these eight habits provides 'a clear pathway for individuals to improve their health and potentially delay ageing'.
