The Study
The Association Between Composite Healthy Lifestyle Score and Type 2 Diabetes Risk in the Korean Population: The Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study
This study watched a bunch of people in Korea for almost 20 years and noticed that those who ate better, exercised more, didn’t smoke, drank less alcohol, and had a healthy weight were less likely to get diabetes. But it didn’t make them change their habits — it just watched what happened. So we can’t say their habits caused the lower risk, just that they went together.
Analysis score
Maximum 72 for a cohort study.
Where the score came from
People who followed five healthy habits—no smoking, daily exercise, moderate drinking, healthy weight, and eating mostly healthy plants—were much less likely to get type 2 diabetes.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 559 / 100
Quality score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1This means if you follow these habits, you’re far less likely to get diabetes—even if you have a family history or other risks.
- 2People with all 5 habits had 56% lower diabetes risk than those with 0 or 1 habit.
- 3Each extra habit lowered risk by 15%.
- 4Eating healthy plants was the most important habit.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Nutrients
Year
2026
Authors
Daeyun Kim, Minji Kang, Dongmin Kim, Ju-Young Park, Jihye Kim
Related Content
Claims (5)
People in Korea who followed five healthy habits—like not smoking, exercising daily, drinking alcohol in moderation, maintaining a healthy weight, and eating mostly plant-based foods—were 56% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes over nearly 18 years than those who followed few or none of these habits.
People in Korea who follow more healthy habits—like not smoking, exercising, eating well, and maintaining a healthy weight—are less likely to get type 2 diabetes. The more good habits they have, the lower their risk.
People who live healthier lives—like eating well and exercising—are less likely to get type 2 diabetes, especially if they’re not already taking medicine for it. This suggests that healthy habits might work better to prevent diabetes than to control it after you already have it.
People in Korea who live healthier lives—like eating well, exercising, and not smoking—are less likely to get type 2 diabetes, no matter their age, gender, family history, or where they live.
People in Korea who eat a lot of healthy plant foods like vegetables, beans, and whole grains are less likely to get type 2 diabetes than others—and this way of eating is the biggest protective factor compared to other lifestyle choices.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.