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Expert Insights

Every week we’ll feature a question submitted to our experts by a Premium Member.

Question: “An article in CBC says “superagers” have 3 things in common - meaningful hobbies, physical activity, and social connections - what do you think?”

Dr. Geen’s Answer:

This was a very interesting news report (you can read it here) and the findings are important and in agreement with what we teach here at Aldora - social life, exercise, and a sense of purpose (or hobbies, as they described it) are important for preventing dementia.

However, something really important to consider is that the study only looks at people who made it into their 80’s and who are aging well - it does not help us understand:

• why might someone never reach their 80s?

• why might someone be in their 80’s and not be fairing well?

It’s a bit like looking at people who got A’s on a test and surmising that their study habits are all that someone needs to replicate the results. In reality, someone who got a C might have the same study habits but also have other habits that detract from those effects - like staying up late or being anxious and overthinking the answers.

In other words, there are many people who might have a sense of purpose, exercise, and social connections but pass away before the age of 80 due to things like heart attacks, strokes, traumatic falls, medical complications, etc.

To truly age well we need to do things that build brain strength and not do things that cause damage.

That’s why Aldora looks at 18 different factors - covering both things that build up strength (like purpose, hobbies, exercise, social life, etc) and things that prevent damage (like managing high blood pressure, diabetes, falls, alcohol, etc).

So, the key takeaway might be better phrased like this:

• If you are 80+ years old and in good health, maintaining a sense of purpose, exercise, and social connections can help you maintain your independence.

• If you are in midlife (40’s to 70’s) - this is the window where lowering risks that shorten life and strengthening the habits that sustain the brain make a big difference - to do so, follow The Aldora 18.

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This Month’s Themed Reads

This section will host related content on Aldora’s theme of the month (in case you missed it). January is exercise.

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• The Aldora Health Team