Lifestyle factors and cardiometabolic risk

Abstract Cardiometabolic risk encompasses the interconnected conditions of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), type 2 diabetes (T2D), and other metabolic diseases, which are leading global health challenges. The American Heart Association (AHA) has introduced “Life’s Essential 8” (LE8), a framework emphasizing eight key lifestyle and health factors, including diet, physical activity, smoking, sleep health, body weight, blood glucose, blood lipids, and blood pressure to optimize cardiovascular health and reduce the burden of cardiometabolic risk. This review examined the associations between individual and combined lifestyle factors and the development and progression of cardiometabolic risk, using CVD and T2D as representative conditions. Evidence highlighted that adherence to healthy lifestyle behaviors, such as maintaining a balanced diet, engaging in physical activity, avoiding smoking, and achieving a healthy weight, significantly reduced the risks of CVD, T2D, and hypertension. Studies showed that adherence to 3–4 healthy lifestyle factors lowers the risk of transition from baseline to diabetes, complications, and mortality. Despite the proven benefits, barriers such as limited access to healthy food and safe environments for physical activity hinder widespread adoption. Addressing these challenges requires innovative public health interventions and personalized strategies targeting high-risk populations. This review underscored the importance of promoting and adhering to LE8 principles to reduce the global burden of cardiometabolic risk and improve overall health outcomes.