Book review: Outlive
A book that holds the secret to living a longer and “better” life while also pointing out oftentimes self-imposed roadblocks that stand in our way? Yes please!
Attia claims that Medicine 2.0, our current model, is overly concerned with attempting to treat medical issues after they have already manifested. This is in contrast to the Medicine 3.0 he endorses (and hopes will be adopted on a larger scale) where issues are eradicated before they become a threat. He refers to the four specific health conditions (affectionately referred to as the “Four Horsemen”) as the biggest health threats to the modern world: diabetes, cancer, neurodegenerative disease (ex. Alzheimer’s Disease), and metabolic dysfunction.
On the positive side, Attia describes what it takes to win the Centenarian Decathlon. He lists activities like hiking 1.5 miles, picking up a young child, and opening a jar, as examples to encourage the reader to develop their own list of Centenarian Decathlon “events” that they would like to partake in once they’ve clicked over into the triple digits. This is effective for a couple of reasons.
it emphasizes the number of seemingly innocuous activities that become exponentially harder for most people as they age and as their health starts to decline. It’s about preparing to be a “kick-(butt) 100 year-old” now or resigning yourself to assisted living in the future
provides something tangible to work towards. For most of us, competitive physical activity ended after the final out of our high school baseball careers. Others keep it going for a bit longer, by doing activities like CrossFit into middle age. Regardless of your athletic abilities and longevity, you can probably agree that still being able to carry groceries into your house in your later years is more important than your all-time best ‘Fran’ time.
Ultimately, we are encouraged to “get in shape” for the events of our older years now or we risk “losing” at them when the time comes.
Exercise is by far the most potent longevity ‘drug’” Attia attests before stating “no other intervention does nearly as much to prolong our lifespan and preserve our cognitive and physical function.” It should come as no surprise that exercise is one of the solutions posed to combat the Horsemen.
Attia isn’t telling the 45-year-old reader that he has to be Tom Brady to significantly increase his longevity; he just needs to get a little stronger, drink a little less, and get some more sleep. He encourages you to want to dominate the Centarain Decathlon (and every decade in between) or want someone in your life who is likely to “fail” the 40-year old version of the event to turn things around give this one a read.
Just yes!
