On November 15, 2010, the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2010 featured presentations of the results of two studies which indicate that lifestyle has a greater impact on whether one will develop cardiovascular disease than being genetically predisposed to acquire the disease.
Diet, physical activity, alcohol intake, smoking status, weight, and blood pressure and glucose levels were assessed at the beginning of the study and at the seventh and twentieth years of follow-up.
Among participants who maintained five healthy lifestyle factors (having a healthy body mass index, limiting alcohol consumption, consuming healthy amounts of potassium, calcium and fibre and a low intake of saturated fat; participating in regular exercise, and never smoking) 60 percent had a low risk profile for cardiovascular disease after 20 years. That percentage dropped to 37 percent for those who had four factors, 30 percent for three factors, 17 percent for two and 6 percent for one or none. Separate analyses for men, women, Caucasians and African-Americans turned up similar findings.
This clearly shows what we intuitively have known for years. Lifestyle and dietary habits have significant impact on our gene expression. It is what we do and how we live that determines our cardiovascular risk.