A really useful and informative article. At the tender age of 56 I’ve been a lifelong exerciser .. but having everything laid out so clearly and backed by data is most helpful.
Thank you … will be sharing widely here and on LinkedIn 👍🏻😎
Exercise and Diet are important but good quality Sleep is even more crucial. All the exercise and nutrition will amount to little if one is sleep deprived.
For all the emphasis on what we eat, junk food etc., most of it could be offset if people would move for 15 to 20 minutes after ingesting big chunks of food or a meal. This is why most other people in the world don’t have our problems. Our current lifestyle is mostly sedentary and one hour of exercise a day is not going to offset the many meals.
Definitely always a good idea to exercise, but I'm not sure about the benefits countering a poor diet. Yes, to the fact that whatever (normal, natural, healthy) food is probably going to be ok in the long run for someone who is fit (even vegetarian or carnivore or high carb, low carb, etc) but when we're talking about the highly processed foods that comprise a large portion of many Americans' diet, I have to wonder. Healthy eating seems to go hand in hand with fitness.
Important to remember that the mid 80s was also when helicopter parenting and Playdates began and took the place of turning your kids out into the street to run around with other kids after school. That’s a huge reduction in metabolic health. And this was before they started disallowing tag and other “hurtful“ games in the playground.
Yes, my inclination is really more rooted in looking at European and South American societies. Unfortunately junk food has reached everywhere but few societies have our terrible metabolic problems.
Yes, I wholeheartedly agree, and you may be entirely right that the exercise is more important than the diet, which is what I took from your original comment, and which is the only point I don't think I agree on, yet, but mainly because I can't think of a good way to measure that right now. Any long term dietary study is particularly problematic and extremely difficult, if not impossible, compared to specific point-in-time biological markers like VO2, heart rate decrease, grip strength and muscle mass. The only maybe comparable kind of thing one might conceive is dietary-related chronic illnesses that predict early or more likely death. But, just like saying that vo2 max is a proxy for having exercised much and for a long time, we'd have to say that diabetes, for example, is a proxy for a poor diet over a long time (which is a harder, although, not completely unreasonable claim to make). Yet, conceiving of such studies in my mind, I'm inclined to think that the diet related chronic diseases would be as likely predictors as the aforementioned fitness markers. Hence, diet could be as important or more important a factor as exercise... obviously, this is this theoretical, but still why I think BOTH are important. :)
Very informative and useful article! I'm a 100% advocate for exercise. I do cardio, strength training, yoga, and pilates and healthy eating! Even more important as one gets older. Thank you for sharing.
YESSS!!! And this is why I write to open eyes to the ways/reasons our body’s ability to move is disrupted over the years by injuries and medical procedures. And how our muscles have an ability to be reset in order for us to stay active.
Loved your recent article in the Irish Time as well hearing you on radio. We have a very heavy son (about 24 stone) who is downs and autistic combined. Age 37. His weight is a deterrent to exercise and managing his diet is very difficult. Would appreciate meeting and advice if possible.
All of this research is incredible and important to know. It makes me wonder though, for some people it’s quality of life over quantity.
I work with a lot of aging bodies and they are very fit. They are more concerned with maintaining their quality of life than with how long they will live.
I’d love to read an article backed with research that talks about the benefits of working out to maintain your basic functional mobility and strength.
The evidence is very clear here. If your goal is quality of life (Defined by the ability to move properly in the world and maintain cognition), exercise is also the answer also. It is virtually impossible to disentangle these components. Exercise for Quality Of Life will naturally translate into Length of Life.
In the conclusion part, the ENJOY THE PROCESS is arguably the singlemost important factor in exercise regime. Do exercises you feel FUN about, not just do what others are doing. This is REALLY IMPORTANT. Otherwise, you would end up feeling miserable and cortisol level rises, sleep disrupted, quality of life drops... Anyways, thanks for sharing!
This post is tremendous.
Thank you!
A really useful and informative article. At the tender age of 56 I’ve been a lifelong exerciser .. but having everything laid out so clearly and backed by data is most helpful.
Thank you … will be sharing widely here and on LinkedIn 👍🏻😎
Thank you for highlighting the importance of exercise — great stuff 💪
Exercise and Diet are important but good quality Sleep is even more crucial. All the exercise and nutrition will amount to little if one is sleep deprived.
For all the emphasis on what we eat, junk food etc., most of it could be offset if people would move for 15 to 20 minutes after ingesting big chunks of food or a meal. This is why most other people in the world don’t have our problems. Our current lifestyle is mostly sedentary and one hour of exercise a day is not going to offset the many meals.
Definitely always a good idea to exercise, but I'm not sure about the benefits countering a poor diet. Yes, to the fact that whatever (normal, natural, healthy) food is probably going to be ok in the long run for someone who is fit (even vegetarian or carnivore or high carb, low carb, etc) but when we're talking about the highly processed foods that comprise a large portion of many Americans' diet, I have to wonder. Healthy eating seems to go hand in hand with fitness.
Important to remember that the mid 80s was also when helicopter parenting and Playdates began and took the place of turning your kids out into the street to run around with other kids after school. That’s a huge reduction in metabolic health. And this was before they started disallowing tag and other “hurtful“ games in the playground.
Yes, my inclination is really more rooted in looking at European and South American societies. Unfortunately junk food has reached everywhere but few societies have our terrible metabolic problems.
Yes, I wholeheartedly agree, and you may be entirely right that the exercise is more important than the diet, which is what I took from your original comment, and which is the only point I don't think I agree on, yet, but mainly because I can't think of a good way to measure that right now. Any long term dietary study is particularly problematic and extremely difficult, if not impossible, compared to specific point-in-time biological markers like VO2, heart rate decrease, grip strength and muscle mass. The only maybe comparable kind of thing one might conceive is dietary-related chronic illnesses that predict early or more likely death. But, just like saying that vo2 max is a proxy for having exercised much and for a long time, we'd have to say that diabetes, for example, is a proxy for a poor diet over a long time (which is a harder, although, not completely unreasonable claim to make). Yet, conceiving of such studies in my mind, I'm inclined to think that the diet related chronic diseases would be as likely predictors as the aforementioned fitness markers. Hence, diet could be as important or more important a factor as exercise... obviously, this is this theoretical, but still why I think BOTH are important. :)
Very informative and useful article! I'm a 100% advocate for exercise. I do cardio, strength training, yoga, and pilates and healthy eating! Even more important as one gets older. Thank you for sharing.
I couldn't agree more 👍👍👍
YESSS!!! And this is why I write to open eyes to the ways/reasons our body’s ability to move is disrupted over the years by injuries and medical procedures. And how our muscles have an ability to be reset in order for us to stay active.
Dr Barrett,
Loved your recent article in the Irish Time as well hearing you on radio. We have a very heavy son (about 24 stone) who is downs and autistic combined. Age 37. His weight is a deterrent to exercise and managing his diet is very difficult. Would appreciate meeting and advice if possible.
Kindest regards,
PJ Drudy
I’m glad you enjoyed the article. I would start with a conversation with your GP and then direct from there.
I've always been big on walking. I think on average I go over the magic number of 10k steps every day.
I am moving house to another area where I live and me and my wife will get bikes. Looking forward to that.
Thanks for this article. Very informative.
A car that frequently drives on highways tends to last longer than one that is always parked.
Love how you break this down. Time to get moving! 🏃🏻♀️
All of this research is incredible and important to know. It makes me wonder though, for some people it’s quality of life over quantity.
I work with a lot of aging bodies and they are very fit. They are more concerned with maintaining their quality of life than with how long they will live.
I’d love to read an article backed with research that talks about the benefits of working out to maintain your basic functional mobility and strength.
The evidence is very clear here. If your goal is quality of life (Defined by the ability to move properly in the world and maintain cognition), exercise is also the answer also. It is virtually impossible to disentangle these components. Exercise for Quality Of Life will naturally translate into Length of Life.
Excellent post, thank you so much.
In the conclusion part, the ENJOY THE PROCESS is arguably the singlemost important factor in exercise regime. Do exercises you feel FUN about, not just do what others are doing. This is REALLY IMPORTANT. Otherwise, you would end up feeling miserable and cortisol level rises, sleep disrupted, quality of life drops... Anyways, thanks for sharing!