Boston Buyers Club

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Live Longer and Better? Exercise

Speaking in Boston recently at the 34th Sports Medicine Symposium of the American Medical Association and the American College of Preventive Medicine, Dr. Walter M. Bortz, 75, said that health derives from four things— “design, external agency, internal agency, and aging”—and that we have such a built-in reserve that most of us have to lose 70 percent of our capacity before it becomes noticeable.

The Orlando Sentinel further reports that he said increased eating and decreased exercise may cause today’s kids to be the first generation in U.S. history to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents.

Commenting on the conference, Florida plastic surgeon Dr. Richard T. Bosshardt wrote, “Much is made of anti-aging medicine, but that is really an attempt to modify bad effects of external and internal agency. Despite attempts to sell you a pill, diet supplement, or ‘secret’ herbal formula, we don’t have any practical ability to alter the aging process.” He recommends building one’s capacities through exercise and better diet.