What affects life expectancy — factor by factor

Smoking is the single largest preventable cause of early death. A lifelong smoker loses about a decade of life on average — but quitting recovers much of it, and the earlier the better.

Regular movement is the most evidence-backed longevity intervention there is — no medicine matches its breadth of benefit.

A plant-forward, minimally-processed diet is a cornerstone of every long-lived population.

A BMI in the healthy range is linked to the lowest mortality; both obesity and being underweight raise risk.

Seven to eight hours is the longevity sweet spot; both too little and too much are linked to higher mortality.

The current evidence is that less is better; heavy drinking clearly shortens life, and no level is risk-free.

Untreated high blood pressure quietly shortens life; treated, its impact falls dramatically — the control matters more than the diagnosis.

Type 2 diabetes raises cardiovascular risk, but good control roughly halves the impact.

Strong relationships are one of the most underrated longevity factors — on a par with quitting smoking.