Olga's secrets on living longer.......

[Dawg52]

Saw this article in today's paper concerning a 94 year old woman(Olga) who still jogs and lives life to the fullest. Some basic common sense ideas, but doesn't hurt to be reminded. The link includes a video of her too.

The article points out that although you may do a morning jog, that doesn't give you a free pass from being active the rest of the day. I do some light jogging on my daily walks with the mutt, but probably don't do enough the rest of the day. Yesterday was a prime example of how I missed an opportunity to get in some exercise although it was a cold rainy day. I watched 2 movies plus other stuff and never climbed on the stationary bike parked right next to my recliner. I thought about it though.

I will do better in 2014.

6 Lessons on Living Longer and Staying Sharp From a Nonagenarian Track Star

 

[ls99]

"
“Ninety-three,” she replied.
The agent gaped at her. “You’re joking,” she said.
“I’m sorry, ma’am. You’re … how old?”
“Ninety-three.”
“What’s your secret?” she *finally asked.
“Enjoy life!” Olga replied."


I suspect TSA agents won't make it 93. Can't imagine they enjoy life.

 

[ocdokie]

I live in a 55+ community. At the fitness center near me, the lobby has a wall dedicated to the "90+ Club." Each member of the Club is featured with a photo and a paragraph listing their age, how often they work out, and their favorite exercises. Most of the members exercise at least 3 times per week, with many exercising six days each week. Currently, the Club's oldest member is 105.

These folks are amazing. I am 50 years younger, and a slug in comparison.

 

[Alan]

I track all the exercise I do on the YMCA fitlinxx site. Much is automatically tracked when you use the machines or sign in to an exercise class, plus I wear a "pebble" when out walking and the rest I log manually on the website.

One feature is a league table so you can see how you are doing compared to others at the facility, year to date, current month and last month. I am usually top of my peer group, males aged 50-59 but I rarely make into the monthly top 10 and never into the year to date top ten for all males. When I add filters I see that virtually all those guys above me are in their 70's and 80's, and I can believe it because they spend a LOT more time than I do at the gym.

 

[Elbata]

I've just read that between 60 and 75 years of age, 2/3's are pre-diabetic or diabetic. That's an incredible statistic given that in some African countries 50-60 years ago, diabetes was almost never found.

Exercise is a key component in preventing diabetes. And of course diabetes leads to heart disease, HBP and other common diseases of Western societies.

 

[donheff]

I saw the Olga story. I hope to be walking and even cycling at 90 but for most of us running would be a disaster.

 

[REWahoo]

I saw the Olga story. I hope to be walking and even cycling at 90...

We can all dream but the chance of a 65 year old male living to 90 is less than 20%. The odds are even smaller that the old geezer can get out of bed...

 

[donheff]

We can all dream but the chance of a 65 year old male living to 90 is less than 20%. The odds are even smaller that the old geezer can get out of bed...

Right. I have a bit of a canary in the coal mine to watch. My parents both lived to their mid 80s. I have three siblings in a group now in their 80s, 15 - 18 years ahead of me. If they die off in their mid 80s I will figure the same goes for me. If they get a few years more I will guess 90 (absent a surprise) since I stayed in better shape than they did. My hope is to keep getting out of bed and walking around until I fall off a metaphorical health cliff and die in my sleep but that is largely happenstance.

 

[REWahoo]

Right. I have a bit of a canary in the coal mine to watch. My parents both lived to their mid 80s. I have three siblings in a group now in their 80s, 15 - 18 years ahead of me. If they die off in their mid 80s I will figure the same goes for me. If they get a few years more I will guess 90 (absent a surprise) since I stayed in better shape than they did. My hope is to keep getting out of bed and walking around until I fall off a metaphorical health cliff and die in my sleep but that is largely happenstance.

+1

Both my parents lived to their early 90's and I have/had three older siblings 11 to 16 years ahead of me. My sister is 78 and not in the best of health, my two brothers expired at ages 71 (auto accident) and 76 (lung cancer). Based on that information I find it difficult to get much insight into my personal longevity prospects.

I like your plan of getting up every day and walking around until you can't. Sounds like something I should adopt.

 

[Lsbcal]

Ran 850 miles in 2013, hilly terrain running.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

Ran 850 miles in 2013, hilly terrain running.

Good Job -
I am making the same bet, i.e. that a decent amount of exercise = longevity insurance.
Then again, Jack Lalanne @ 96 vs George Burns @ 100 leaves room for the occasional fine cigar chased with a shot of good scotch.

 

[Khufu]

Longevity is usually thought to be about 30% heritable. The biggest correlant for long life is educational level:

"An additional four years of education lowers five-year mortality by 1.8 percentage points; it also reduces the risk of heart disease by 2.16 percentage points, and the risk of diabetes by 1.3 percentage points."
The Effects of Education on Health

The effect of education on life span is very robust. One study that supported it was the Harvard study, which tracked a Harvard class of the 1930s over their whole llife, the class that included John Kennedy as a matter of fact. Even among that group that had wealth and opportunity far above the norm, those with masters degrees outlived those with bachelor's and those with PhDs outlived those with masters.