You Can't Control Everything — But You Can Reduce Your Risk of Chronic Disease

As a registered dietitian, I talk a lot about reducing the risk of chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. But what does that actually mean — and how much of our health is really within our control?

Let’s break down the difference between what you can control and what you can’t, and how even small changes can make a real impact.

You’re Not Doomed by Your Genes

If you’ve got chronic illness in your family — maybe your parents, grandparents, or aunts and uncles have type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, or heart disease — you might feel like it’s just a matter of time before it happens to you too.

⚠️ Truth: You can’t guarantee you’ll avoid a chronic disease. But you can absolutely reduce your risk.

It’s not about perfection. It’s about shifting the odds in your favor.

Non-Modifiable vs. Modifiable Risk Factors

Let’s talk about two types of risk:

🧬 Non-Modifiable Risk Factors (Things You Can’t Change)

These include:

• Age

• Sex assigned at birth

• Family history/genetics

• Medical history

• Life circumstances (like where you live or your access to healthy food)

For example, if you live in a food desert or an area without safe places to exercise, that’s a real barrier. And while some people may be able to move neighborhoods, that’s not an option for everyone — which is why we often treat circumstances like these as non-modifiable in practice.

🔁 Modifiable Risk Factors (Things You Can Change)

This is where you can take action. These include:

1. Smoking and alcohol intake

2. Nutrition

3. Physical activity

4. Stress management

5. Sleep

These are the areas where I, as a dietitian, can help you create real change — even if you’re working with difficult starting conditions.

The Dice Roll Analogy 🎲

Here’s a visual way to think about it:
Imagine every risk factor is a die. The more dice you have, the higher the chance you’ll roll four sixes — aka, develop a chronic disease.

We all start with five white dice — our non-modifiable risk factors. Then we add five green dice — our modifiable behaviors. That’s 10 total dice. More dice = more chances to hit that disease “jackpot.”

But if you reduce some of those modifiable risk factors — let’s say you start exercising, improve your nutrition, and sleep better — suddenly, you’re down to seven dice. Less risk. Fewer chances to hit the unlucky combo.

👉 You don’t have to eliminate all five modifiable risk factors at once. Start with just one. Every die you remove makes a difference.

Where Should You Start?

• 🚭 If you smoke, that’s the biggest risk to tackle first.

• 🥦 Next, look at your nutrition. Start cooking more at home or reducing sodium.

• 🏃 Move your body — even light activity is better than none.

• 💤 Focus on getting enough sleep.

• 🧘 Work on stress management over time.

Improvement beats perfection. Even small progress reduces your risk.

Takeaway: Focus on What You Can Change

You may not have chosen your genetics or your environment, but you still have powerful tools to shift your health trajectory. By focusing on the five modifiable risk factors — and making intentional changes over time — you can live a longer, healthier life.

If this helped you reframe how you think about chronic disease prevention, I’d love if you shared this post or subscribe to my YouTube channel for more real-life, evidence-based nutrition tips. Let’s focus on progress — not perfection — together.