Will You Live Longer with a Healthy Lifestyle?

Most of us recognize several key elements to a healthy lifestyle: not smoking, exercising regularly, eating your vegetables, controlling weight and consuming alcohol in moderation. Most people, however, do not know how much longer they could live if they actually followed such advice. Moreover, they might find it a challenge to change their habits. What can be done?

Adopting a Healthy Lifestyle to Defeat Metabolic Syndrome:

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of three or more risk factors that increase the chance for cardiovascular complications such as heart attacks, strokes or peripheral artery disease along with diabetes, kidney disease and liver problems. Risk factors for metabolic syndrome include high blood pressure, abdominal obesity, elevated blood sugar, low HDL cholesterol and high triglycerides. Physicians worry about their patients with metabolic syndrome because they are more likely to develop serious diseases as time passes.

A randomized controlled study found that six months of lifestyle interventions to encourage new habits of healthier eating and greater physical activity led to long-term benefits (JAMA Internal Medicine, Nov. 9, 2025). The researchers recruited people with confirmed metabolic syndrome and assigned them to an education group that also received a FitBit or to a group that got education and a FitBit plus group meetings for coaching. These 19 meetings over the course of six months harnessed the power of peer support to help people adopt four healthy lifestyle habits. These included vegetables at meals, daily brisk walks, awareness of smells, colors and tastes, and pausing before reacting to stress or emotion by eating.

618 participants completed the study. After the initial six months, participants continued to meet monthly for peer support, but the investigators did not present new information. At two years after the start of the study, researchers evaluated how the volunteers were faring. Almost 28 percent of those in the intervention group no longer had metabolic syndrome. About 21 percent of those in the control group achieved that. In addition to changes in habits, the scientists observed that those practicing new habits had improved blood sugar.

The authors point out that

“The evolving science of sustained behavior change suggests that unique strategies are needed to achieve sustainability, one of which is new habit formation.”

How Many Years Does a Healthy Lifestyle Add?

An analysis published in the journal Circulation used data from the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Followup Study to answer this question (Li et al, Circulation, May 1, 2018 ). Over 120,000 men and women participated in these study cohorts for more than three decades. That included 78,865 female nurses and 44,354 male dentists, veterinarians, pharmacists and other health professionals.

During that time, almost 25,000 health professionals died from cancer or cardiovascular disease. After adjusting for various factors, the authors found that a 50-year-old-woman following all five healthy habits might expect to live to 93. That is 14 years longer than women with the least healthy lifestyles. A 50-year-old man could expect to make it to 87 if he followed all the healthy habits. That’s 12 years more than his less conscientious colleagues.

The authors conclude:

“Adopting a healthy lifestyle could substantially reduce premature mortality and prolong life expectancy in US adults.”

Do You Follow a Healthy Lifestyle?

Sadly, though, very few Americans actually implement such recommendations. The authors of the Circulation analysis note that in 2006 only 8% of Americans could check all five healthy lifestyle boxes. Let us know if there is information we can provide through The People’s Pharmacy to help you achieve these goals.