Making these lifestyle changes reduces chronic disease, even if you have a genetic risk – CTV
July 16, 2025
Better health for your whole body can be broken down into just seven factors, according to a new study.
Life’s Simple 7 is the American Heart Association’s guidelines for achieving and maintaining ideal cardiovascular health. The factors include not smoking, a nutritious diet, regular exercise, a healthy weight, optimal blood pressure, controlled blood sugar and well-managed cholesterol.
Researchers reviewed 483 studies on the impacts of maximizing Life’s Simple 7 on the health of many different body systems over the course of people’s lives in a meta-analysis published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
Maintaining ideal levels of at least three of Life’s Simple 7 metrics was associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, even if someone had a genetic predisposition, according to the data. And better scores across all of the factors showed benefits in many body systems beyond cardiovascular health.
“A few years ago, we learned that heart health and brain health are very closely tied. Through this review, we found that almost every organ system and bodily function also benefits from maintaining the healthy lifestyle behaviors of Life’s Simple 7,” said lead study author Dr. Liliana Aguayo, a research assistant professor at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and the Global Diabetes Research Center at Emory University in Atlanta, in a statement.
