My dad was a fitness enthusiast. He exercised daily, ate what he was supposed to eat, didn’t drink or smoke, no drugs, and he died at 68. My mother, whom doesn’t exercise, smokes, eats whatever she wants (usually junk food and highly processed foods), is still alive and kicking and is now 77.
I lost faith in the whole “exercise for a healthier/longer life” mentality 9 years ago. Live your life, be happy, do things in moderation, and make sure you do what you love with the people you love. If that includes exercise, good for you.
IIRC, my grandfather who didn’t exercise, smoked his entire adult life, drank, and ate whatever his southern wife fried up for him, lived longer 🤣. Not by much, but still longer.
I live in the comfort that the men in my family don’t live super long. I’m okay with that.
There’s more to life than living long. I would rather be healthy and energetic than lethargic and tired all the time. Even if genetics play a large role in longevity, my own choices decide how I feel, and I feel way better if I exercise. Healthspan is more important than lifespan.
I’m no fan of exercise. But as I imminently approach 40, I’m feeling and seeing its value more and more. The purpose of fitness is not longevity - it is independence and quality of life. Just assume you’re going to live to age 90 either way. Look around at some 80 year olds. Breathing machines, walkers, bed ridden… how do you want to spend your years? Years! Your body will become a torture prison unless you tend to it. Dying is the least of my concerns.
I know plenty of examples like that in my circle of family and friends.
But you know what, a lot of those people who have shitty health, eat whatever and live to be 80 are miserable, senile, weak and unhealthy people for the last ten years of their lives. They do live long lives but what sense is it to survive to 70 or 80 if you are going to be miserable and probably not be aware for the last ten years of your life?
It’s fun to say eat whatever you want and not exercise but if you risk torturing yourself for the last few years of your life … what’s the point?
I’d rather be as healthy as possible right up to end if I can help it. I certainly don’t want to be a helpless old man who can’t think anymore and leave my family to decide when and if I should go.
Depends on what you want out of life. I eat a fair amount of healthy stuff but I also eat fried xhicken, chicken wings, plenty of sweets, etc. I’m not going to deny myself small pleasures on the offchance it let’s me live a bit longer.
That said, I also don’t want to basically be suffering for the last 10 years of my life. If it gets that bad, maybe I’ll just end it myself.
My dad was a fitness enthusiast. He exercised daily, ate what he was supposed to eat, didn’t drink or smoke, no drugs, and he died at 68. My mother, whom doesn’t exercise, smokes, eats whatever she wants (usually junk food and highly processed foods), is still alive and kicking and is now 77.
I lost faith in the whole “exercise for a healthier/longer life” mentality 9 years ago. Live your life, be happy, do things in moderation, and make sure you do what you love with the people you love. If that includes exercise, good for you.
That’s the funny thing about looking at individual cases, we can’t say what their lifespan would have been like if their behavior was different.
But we can look at large groups of people and say that yes, in general, being fit and healthy tends to result in a longer lifespan.
correlation =/= causation. Its a major problem in dietary science. It could simply be healthier gut bacteria or it could be stress.
IIRC, my grandfather who didn’t exercise, smoked his entire adult life, drank, and ate whatever his southern wife fried up for him, lived longer 🤣. Not by much, but still longer.
I live in the comfort that the men in my family don’t live super long. I’m okay with that.
There’s more to life than living long. I would rather be healthy and energetic than lethargic and tired all the time. Even if genetics play a large role in longevity, my own choices decide how I feel, and I feel way better if I exercise. Healthspan is more important than lifespan.
I’m no fan of exercise. But as I imminently approach 40, I’m feeling and seeing its value more and more. The purpose of fitness is not longevity - it is independence and quality of life. Just assume you’re going to live to age 90 either way. Look around at some 80 year olds. Breathing machines, walkers, bed ridden… how do you want to spend your years? Years! Your body will become a torture prison unless you tend to it. Dying is the least of my concerns.
I know plenty of examples like that in my circle of family and friends.
But you know what, a lot of those people who have shitty health, eat whatever and live to be 80 are miserable, senile, weak and unhealthy people for the last ten years of their lives. They do live long lives but what sense is it to survive to 70 or 80 if you are going to be miserable and probably not be aware for the last ten years of your life?
It’s fun to say eat whatever you want and not exercise but if you risk torturing yourself for the last few years of your life … what’s the point?
I’d rather be as healthy as possible right up to end if I can help it. I certainly don’t want to be a helpless old man who can’t think anymore and leave my family to decide when and if I should go.
I like the idea of a healthy life rather than measuring it in raw years.
Must be all the preservatives they put into junk food! Lol
The difference between quality of life rather than quantity of life.
Depends on what you want out of life. I eat a fair amount of healthy stuff but I also eat fried xhicken, chicken wings, plenty of sweets, etc. I’m not going to deny myself small pleasures on the offchance it let’s me live a bit longer.
That said, I also don’t want to basically be suffering for the last 10 years of my life. If it gets that bad, maybe I’ll just end it myself.
Homeostasis is life, keeping it in a stable manageable range is longevity.
Fitness can put all sorts of strains on the body that someone living within their limits might not have to endure.
You may, or may not like this song but here you go… https://youtu.be/QT3-ySabCiA?si=u0KeB5tKvONyiFMM
Catchy at least.