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I’m older than you. When I was younger I thought you had more control over your health. Now I realize the amount of control you really have is minimal. It seems

I’m older than you. When I was younger I thought you had more control over your health. Now I realize the amount of control you really have is minimal. It seems like a crapshoot. I see older people who did nothing to take care of themselves doing just fine, and plenty of fit people whose health is surprisingly bad. I see some people over 65 who can do what they once did, but they are the exceptions. I see how diet and excise impact heart disease. That’s obvious, particularly in the extremes. Other than that… it seems like the genetic lottery determines the majority of outcomes.

darkerside 8y ago
> I see older people who did nothing to take care of themselves doing just fine, and plenty of fit people whose health is surprisingly bad You may be older, but your viewpoint seems surprisingly immature. Unless you've kept careful records, it's likely that you feel this way because your brain has lived the surprising counterexamples, not because people don't have control over their health outcomes. Genetics obviously play a role, but until those can be changed, you can choose to work with the tools you have or opt out of the game.
- dang 8y ago
  That crosses into personal attack. I assume you didn't mean it that way, but we ban accounts that do this on HN. Please make your points without resorting to it. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
shafyy 8y ago
Of course you could be perfectly healthy and then get a bad disease, or get run over by a bus. But life is about probability. And living healthy increases your probability of living a longer, healthier life. And as this study shows, it increases it by a significant factor. Of course, the wonderful thing about life is that you can make your own choices. And if you don't want to eat healthy and work out, and are fine with the consequences, that's totally ok.

darkerside 8y ago

> I see older people who did nothing to take care of themselves doing just fine, and plenty of fit people whose health is surprisingly bad You may be older, but your viewpoint seems surprisingly immature. Unless you've kept careful records, it's likely that you feel this way because your brain has lived the surprising counterexamples, not because people don't have control over their health outcomes. Genetics obviously play a role, but until those can be changed, you can choose to work with the tools you have or opt out of the game.

dang 8y ago
That crosses into personal attack. I assume you didn't mean it that way, but we ban accounts that do this on HN. Please make your points without resorting to it. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

shafyy 8y ago

Of course you could be perfectly healthy and then get a bad disease, or get run over by a bus. But life is about probability. And living healthy increases your probability of living a longer, healthier life. And as this study shows, it increases it by a significant factor. Of course, the wonderful thing about life is that you can make your own choices. And if you don't want to eat healthy and work out, and are fine with the consequences, that's totally ok.