Science Advances: Healthy Diet May Add 1 to 4 Years to Life

An international team of scientists has found that following a healthy diet may add between one and four years to life expectancy — even when genetic factors are taken into account. The study was published in the journal Science Advances.

The research was led by Yanling Lv of Huazhong University of Science and Technology. Scientists analyzed data from more than 100,000 participants in the UK Biobank, a large-scale project containing genetic and medical information on half a million volunteers. Participants were followed for more than 10 years, with dietary data regularly collected based on food consumed during the previous 24 hours.

Each participant received a score depending on how closely their diet matched one of five recognized healthy eating patterns: the Mediterranean diet, a diabetes risk–reduction diet (high in fiber and low in sugar), the DASH diet, a plant-based diet, and the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI). At the same time, researchers evaluated the presence of 19 genetic variants associated with longevity.

During the follow-up period, 4,314 participants died. By comparing dietary habits, genetic data, and mortality outcomes, researchers estimated how much longer a 45-year-old person could live after switching to a healthier diet compared with individuals whose diets were the least balanced.

The strongest effect was observed for the AHEI dietary pattern: men who followed this approach could expect to live an average of 4.3 additional years, while women gained about 3.2 years. The Mediterranean diet was associated with an increase of 2.2 years in men and 2.3 years in women.

The diabetes risk–reduction diet added about three years for men and 1.7 years for women. A plant-based diet was linked to gains of 2.1 and 1.9 years, respectively. The DASH diet was associated with an increase in life expectancy of 1.9 years in men and 1.8 years in women.

The authors emphasize that the positive effect was observed regardless of genetic predisposition to longevity. In other words, even with less favorable genetics, a healthy diet remained a significant factor.

Whole grains, fruits, and vegetables showed the strongest association with increased life expectancy, appearing most frequently in the diets of participants with the best survival outcomes.

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