Health Report - Separate stories podcast The five things to change for a longer life
Jul 18, 2025
Discover five critical health risk factors that could shorten your lifespan. Smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, weight extremes, and diabetes are all contributors. A recent study reveals that addressing these issues could add years to your life—up to 15 years for women! Explore how managing these risks from a younger age can enhance health outcomes. Learn about the influence of physical activity and nutrition in preventing heart attacks and strokes, especially in an era of rising obesity.
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Five Key Cardiovascular Risks
- Five key risk factors explain around half of global cardiovascular disease risk: smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, abnormal weight, and diabetes.
- Having all five risk factors between ages 24-38% increases risk, but modifying them can extend life expectancy.
Life Expectancy Impact of Risk Factors
- People aged 50 without these five risk factors can live 12-15 years longer than those with all five.
- This longer life expectancy also corresponds to a longer healthy lifespan free of cardiovascular diseases.
Hypertension As Top Risk Factor
- High blood pressure is currently the most harmful risk factor affecting life expectancy.
- Smoking was more detrimental 20-30 years ago, but has declined in many countries.