Living to a Ripe Old Age

How can I live to a ripe old age?

If you're concerned about longevity, the most important thing to understand is the power of what you do on a daily basis. If you look at all the risk factors for dying, the one that is most predictive is fitness level. Fitness level is more predictive than hypertension, more predictive than cigarette smoking, more predictive than cholesterol. So if your goal is to live as long as possible, I would recommend that you walk on a regular basis, or try to find some way of maintaining your fitness level. On the opposite side, we know from the Framingham heart study that if you are obese at the age, in your 50s, on average you cut 7 years off of your life. If you smoke cigarettes and you are in your 50s, you cut 7 years off of your life. If you are obese and you smoke, you cut 14 years off your life. So I think the most important message if you're concerned about living a long life, pay attention to the power of what you do on a daily basis.