Heredity, genes, and longevity

We sometimes wonder about our genetic inheritance. We wonder how much it has influenced our health and longevity. We are born with a genetic inheritance but what effect does it have and is it significant?

It’s been studied extensively with many publications by researchers and scientists. The conclusion seems to be that lifestyle has more influence over longevity than genes. It’s said that although a family may have a history that includes those with shorter lifespans, we now have the ability to know the reason they lived shorter lives and the possible remedies. New medical technology can provide detailed information and key indicators to help us choose the right nutrition and help make other lifestyle choices to try and avoid issues that negatively influenced the life of some of our relatives.

Photos of me over 73 years: 1952, 1979, 2008, and 2025. My family had canoeists, sailors, golfers, tennis players, equestrians, and a cousin in France who runs marathons and plays tennis! 

I was asked recently about my own parents suggesting that heredity may have something to do with my own health and longevity. I’m 93 now and have two close relatives not far behind me in age and both keep fit. One takes long walks almost every day and uses an elliptical when the weathers bad. The other plays tennis indoors and outdoors every week all year. My parents passed away in their 80s. My grandparents lived to their 80s on one side and 90s on the other. Relatives on both sides of my family keep ancestry records and it seems my family appears to be typical of most. There are a few that lived very long lives, some in-between, and some whose life was cut short.

We evolved as creatures of movement and I believe that regular exercise is in keeping with our ancient past and is the way forward to good health and fitness in our later years!

You may wonder if I knew about lifestyle and longevity when I started to exercise many years ago and that’s why I chose certain exercises and did them regularly. No, I did not know this at all. I started to exercise because I thought I wasn’t fit whatever that was.at the time.  And I wanted to be fit and healthy and I didn’t know exactly what that was either. I just knew it made me feel good, I liked it, and I kept on doing it for decades.

I may have made some good choices because the things I do such as aerobics, upper body strength, stretching, and balance, are the things the experts now say are the right thing to do. There’s a wide variety of exercise choices available in those four broad categories that allow room for personal creativity and variety.

Peter Attia MD talks about genetics, lifestyle, and longevity in his 2023 book Outlive. It was a personal matter with him because of the shorter lifespan of some of his own family and after incredibly detailed research concluded that lifestyle has a far more significant effect on longevity than genes. A sedentary and overweight lifestyle can lead to various illnesses. An active lifestyle that includes regular exercise and healthy nutrition is far more likely to result in a healthier and longer life.

We shouldn’t be concerned about our genetics and heredity -- it is what it is! We’re fortunate to have some of the best medical and health services in the world. We evolved as creatures of movement and I believe that regular exercise is in keeping with our ancient past and is the way forward to good health and fitness in our later years!