According to researchers at University of Edinburgh, people who are overweight cut their life expectancy by two months for every extra kilogram of weight they carry. In addition, education is found to lead to a longer life, with almost a year added for each year spent studying beyond school.

Still, other key findings are that people who give up smoking, study for longer and are open to new experiences might expect to live longer.

Scientists at the University of Edinburgh analyzed genetic information from more than 600,000 people alongside records of their parents' lifespan.

Because people share half of their genetic information with each of their parents, the team was able to calculate the impact of various genes on life expectancy.

Lifestyle choices are influenced to a certain extent by our #DNA -- genes, for example, have been linked to increased alcohol consumption and addiction. The researchers were therefore able to work out which have the greatest influence on lifespan.

Their method was designed to rule out the chances that any observed associations could be caused by a separate, linked factor. This enabled them to pinpoint exactly which lifestyle factors cause people to live longer, or shorter, lives.

Professor Jim Wilson, of the University of Edinburgh's Usher Institute, said: "The power of big data and genetics allow us to compare the effect of different behaviors and diseases in terms of months and years of life lost or gained, and to distinguish between mere association and causal effect."

Dr Peter Joshi, Chancellor's Fellow at the University of Edinburgh's Usher Institute, said: "Our study has estimated the causal effect of lifestyle choices. We found that, on average, smoking a pack a day reduces lifespan by seven years, whilst losing one kilogram of weight will increase your lifespan by two months."

Story Source: Materials provided by University of Edinburgh. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:

Peter K. Joshi, Nicola Pirastu, Katherine A. Kentistou, Krista Fischer, Edith Hofer, Katharina E. Schraut, David W. Clark, Teresa Nutile, Catriona L. K. Barnes, Paul R. H. J. Timmers, Xia Shen, Ilaria Gandin, Aaron F. McDaid, Thomas Folkmann Hansen, Scott D. Gordon, Franco Giulianini, Thibaud S. Boutin, Abdel Abdellaoui, Wei Zhao, Carolina Medina-Gomez, Traci M. Bartz, Stella Trompet, Leslie A. Lange, Laura Raffield, Ashley van der Spek, Tessel E. Galesloot, Petroula Proitsi, Lisa R. Yanek, Lawrence F. Bielak, Antony Payton, Federico Murgia, Maria Pina Concas, Ginevra Biino, Salman M. Tajuddin, Ilkka Seppälä, Najaf Amin, Eric Boerwinkle, Anders D. Børglum, Archie Campbell, Ellen W. Demerath, Ilja Demuth, Jessica D. Faul, Ian Ford, Alessandro Gialluisi, Martin Gögele, MariaElisa Graff, Aroon Hingorani, Jouke-Jan Hottenga, David M. Hougaard, Mikko A. Hurme, M. Arfan Ikram, Marja Jylhä, Diana Kuh, Lannie Ligthart, Christina M. Lill, Ulman Lindenberger, Thomas Lumley, Reedik Mägi, Pedro Marques-Vidal, Sarah E. Medland, Lili Milani, Reka Nagy, William E. R. Ollier, Patricia A. Peyser, Peter P. Pramstaller, Paul M. Ridker, Fernando Rivadeneira, Daniela Ruggiero, Yasaman Saba, Reinhold Schmidt, Helena Schmidt, P. Eline Slagboom, Blair H. Smith, Jennifer A. Smith, Nona Sotoodehnia, Elisabeth Steinhagen-Thiessen, Frank J. A. van Rooij, André L. Verbeek, Sita H. Vermeulen, Peter Vollenweider, Yunpeng Wang, Thomas Werge, John B. Whitfield, Alan B. Zonderman, Terho Lehtimäki, Michele K. Evans, Mario Pirastu, Christian Fuchsberger, Lars Bertram, Neil Pendleton, Sharon L. R. Kardia, Marina Ciullo, Diane M. Becker, Andrew Wong, Bruce M. Psaty, Cornelia M. van Duijn, James G. Wilson, J. Wouter Jukema, Lambertus Kiemeney, André G. Uitterlinden, Nora Franceschini, Kari E. North, David R. Weir, Andres Metspalu, Dorret I. Boomsma, Caroline Hayward, Daniel Chasman, Nicholas G. Martin, Naveed Sattar, Harry Campbell, Tōnu Esko, Zoltán Kutalik, James F. Wilson. Genome-wide meta-analysis associates HLA-DQA1/DRB1 and LPA and lifestyle factors with human longevity. Nature Communications, 2017; 8 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-00934-5