Wow – thanks for sharing about Mahathir Mohamad. I wasn’t familiar with him and he does seem to fit the profile of a “super-ager” in a few ways. At 99 years old, he definitely appears much younger. In that interview, what strikes me is how sharp he appears. The overwhelming majority of people closing in on centenarian status aren’t anywhere close to being so “with-it” in terms of cognition. Apparently he is the world’s “oldest leader.” Perhaps with 3 heart attacks he doesn’t even have genetics on his side… or at least parts of his genetic profile.
Staying in energy balance or practicing mild calorie restriction might also be part of his plan:
“We should eat to live and not live to eat…the amount must not be more than what is needed,” he advises. “Obesity is not good for health or longevity.” The accumulation of “fat around the waist” is a sign of a person eating beyond their body’s needs, which Mahathir says can be remedied by reducing the quantity of one’s meals by one-fourth or one-third."
It is interesting that prior to entering politics, he was a physician in his previous career. He has also kept his weight consistent between 62-64 kg and is on the shorter side at 1.7m. Alex, I’d love to see the NYT article, but it’s behind a paywall.
Having good FOXO3 variants (often seen in centenarian) often more than makes up for unfavorable heart disease variants [heart disease does not accelerate aging in all people]
btw, Chen Ning Yang also had a minor heart attack in his 70s, but if you look up the Chinese news media, he can still walk and is doing ok at 102… The only other older “famous people” who are doing ok is Song Ping and John Alexander Cruickshank [the last living WW2 VC cross holder]… Even then, all 3 of them showed their age at 100 way more than Mahathir did.
Some things lack any logical explanation. My mother, 93, has very high cholesterol (doesn’t take statins) and advanced vascular disease in addition to some pulmonary problems (smoked all her adult life till 63). Despite of that, her heart is healthy (per her cardiologist). She still lives independently and functions normally. If I posted a picture of her, you would think it’s somebody not older than 70. My friend, 59, looks much older than her. Nobody knows how to explain that. I call it destiny. Some call it luck.
My friend, who just died of a heart attack in his 70s, looked great up until his sudden death. How you look isn’t always correlated with a long lifespan. I’m still going to be preventative and do all I can. If the grim reaper still takes me early, at least I tried my damndest to evade him!