Observational studies have shown that poor nutritional status or obesity, smoking, alcohol drinking/abuse, and physical fitness are associated to a variety of poor surgical outcomes. Interventional studies show some effect of preoperative smoking cessation, alcohol abstinence, perioperative alcohol intervention, and exercise on wound healing and infectious outcomes. Patients scheduled for benign surgery should be encouraged to smoking cessation and alcohol abstinence. Evidence on other lifestyle interventions, vulnerable patients and acute surgical settings is still lacking.