70: What does health mean at this age?

We are all going to turn 70. Hopefully.

If you do, what would it mean to be a healthy 70?

I am a huge fan of quantification. It takes away the b.s. from opinion. So here are my quantitative markers for good health at this age.

First, the absence of cognitive decline. When people meet you, they label you sharp, present, focused, and aware. This is not necessarily about memory, but about being clear-headed and thoughtful.

Next, you do not have any lifestyle diseases. Namely, hypertension, high blood sugar, fatty liver, elevated cholesterol, or a poorly functioning kidney. Your body fat is less than twenty-five percent for both men and women.

You sleep at least seven hours on most nights. Your resting heart rate is in the sixties, or better still in the fifties.

You are strong.

You can squat, sit and stand without difficulty. If you measured, you could do fifty squats without difficulty. You can lift and carry at least half your body weight.

You could walk or cycle for sixty minutes without losing your voice, whatever the pace or speed.

You do not have indigestion or constipation.

Here is the truth.

However far you are from these metrics and regardles of age. If you started today, you could still achieve them. Yes, it does get harder the older you get. But that should not stop you from wanting or trying.

In what has been my greatest learning, one day I realized that the body renews all the time. I know I keep saying it but I am also surprised that so many people are surprised by this fact. Perhaps it is because we appear the same on the outside.

So who ever you are and what ever your condition, work to achieve these goals. Good health matters a whole lore more, the older you get.

Reach out to me on twitter @rbawri Instagram @riteshbawriofficial and YouTube at www.youtube.com/breatheagain