Prognosis

Norway’s Longer Lives Suggest Environment Can Trump Genetics

Pedestrians pass a convenience store in Oslo’s theater district. 

Photographer: Odin Jaeger/Bloomberg
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Hi, this is Naomi in Berlin, mulling whether I should have chosen Oslo instead. More on that in a second. But first...

The debate over whether nature or nurture is more likely to cause an untimely death has been tilting toward nurture for quite some time. Exercise, smoking and even factors like loneliness have all been linked to life expectancy.