Scientist: 30% of longevity is determined by genes

11:44, 1 October

Photo: open sources, Soyuz.by

"Genes are responsible for 30% of longevity," Pavel Morozik, Deputy Director for Research at the Institute of Genetics and Cytology of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, said at a press conference at the National Press Center.

According to the speaker, there are so-called blue zones on our planet—places with an abnormally high number of centenarians. He named the island of Sardinia in Italy as one such region, where many people over 100 live primarily in rural areas. This is largely due to their active lifestyle, such as farming, their dairy diet, the climate, and other factors.

"Modern science is encouraging, as genes play a significant role in longevity, but not the only one. They determine approximately 30% of longevity success, and these are the initial conditions a person is born with. And later, to realize this potential, medicine, physical activity, and nutrition are all important. Social factors also contribute significantly to success. And if all this is successfully implemented, life expectancy can be increased by 10-20 years," said Pavel Morozik.

According to him, genetics gives a person instructions that he can apply.

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