Abstract
Framing health as a matter of individual choice overlooks the systemic forces that shape people's lives. To improve population health and reduce health and social inequities, we must move beyond ‘lifestyle’ narratives and embrace more accurate, values-based messaging rooted in the social and structural determinants of health.
Two important public health articles have recently been published in Australia, each drawing renewed attention to the question: what shapes our health? One, published in The Conversation [1], summarised findings from a study in Nature Medicine [2] that used data from the UK Biobank to examine associations between a broad range of exposures—genetic, behavioural and socioeconomic—and biological ageing and premature mortality. The take-home message in the article's title, however, was striking in its simplicity:
How long will you live? New evidence says it's much more about your choices than your genes.
Two important public health articles have recently been published in Australia, each drawing renewed attention to the question: what shapes our health? One, published in The Conversation [1], summarised findings from a study in Nature Medicine [2] that used data from the UK Biobank to examine associations between a broad range of exposures—genetic, behavioural and socioeconomic—and biological ageing and premature mortality. The take-home message in the article's title, however, was striking in its simplicity:
How long will you live? New evidence says it's much more about your choices than your genes.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e70125 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Health Promotion Journal of Australia |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs |
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| Publication status | Published - Jan 2026 |
Keywords
- framing
- health behaviour
- health communication
- health policy
- public health
- social determinants of health
- values-based messaging