Jarbrink-Sehgal ME, et al. - This retrospective analysis investigated the risk factors for diverticular disease development or progression using data from 43,772 men (18–20 years old) conscripted to military service in Sweden from 1969 through 1970, with a follow-up period of 39 years. Enrollees underwent an extensive mental and physical health examination and completed questionnaires covering alcohol consumption, smoking, and use of recreational drugs; cardiovascular fitness was determined via an ergometer cycle at the time of conscription. A correlation was illustrated between being overweight or obese, a smoker, a high-risk user of alcohol, and/or having a low level of cardiovascular fitness in late adolescence with an increased risk of developing diverticular disease requiring hospitalization later in life. The economic burden of diverticular disease decades later could be reduced by improving lifestyle factors among adolescents.