NW-Bound
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2008
- Messages
- 35,712
Personal responsibility. Eat your steak then go out and exercise while ignoring those tasty ads
I do not grill my steaks anymore. Pan fry to sear, then finish in the oven. Then, a bit of cheap cognac to deglaze the pan ("flambé"), then a bit of cream added, topped with some butter and freshly ground pepper, to make the sauce.
Hmmm. How many miles I need to walk to burn that off?
After having lived in Okinawa for 5 years (1999-2004), I can vouch that the old diet of Okinawa was great for keeping them alive longer. But....if the things I have read in recent years is accurate (I do not believe all I read), they no longer are living as long as they did. The number of McD's etc and heaven forbid.......KFC....they absolutely love KFC for some reason..... their crappy fat and junk food intake has increased so much that they were starting to slide down the scale fast.
They are DOOMED. I only eat at those places a couple of times a year, when on domestic driving trips.
Im sure luck plays a big part in your quality of life at an older age.
My father and I were of the same built, BMI of 24, waist being half of height. In other words, people would think that we were fit.
He did not smoke, ate no junk food, exercised by gardening. In the 10 years after his retirement at 65, his travel was limited by his dialysis treatment. He died at the age of 75. In his desolation, he had lamented that life wasn't fair.
Still trying to do what I can to maintain my health. However, I am also preparing myself to accept whatever fate that my genes dictate.
It really influenced my decision to retire early, though I did not hate my job that bad.
This article from The Economist argues that improved health does not always make countries richer:
Health and wealth | The Economist
Mr Bleakley also argues that focusing on life expectancy may miss the point. Some health improvements may not lead to a longer life, but may nonetheless make people more productive.
Policies that improve health without affecting the length of life may well be the ones that have a bigger economic pay-off, and a focus on life expectancy may miss this.
The reverse side of this coin is the health care cost of certain "sins".
For example, my former mentor, a non-smoker, made an argument that lung cancer patients die so quickly that they would not tax the health care system.
Compared to my father's case, I would have to agree.