# I guess vegetarian and Runners don't always live longer after all. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 2, 2012, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-vegetarian-and-runners-dont-always-live-longer-after-all/614531 "2012-03-02T09:43:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![smokey78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@smokey78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smokey78)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-vegetarian-and-runners-dont-always-live-longer-after-all/614531/41 "2012-03-02T23:02:20Z")
> [@](#): > > God, if I could only go back in time, I’d run Jim Fixx over before he dropped of a heart attack, and stop the "Nya nya! Running kills you I heard Jim Fixx knew of heart troubles running in his family and that he did what he could to fight genetics. Guess it was not enuf. Even Dr. Oz who touts good health and fitness and all that had tumors found during his colonoscopy. (Thankfully removed before it spread). And George Burns, a smoker, EOM. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2012, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-vegetarian-and-runners-dont-always-live-longer-after-all/614531/42 "2012-03-02T23:20:40Z")
> [@rhubarbarin](#): > > Too lazy; it’s all accessible by google. 🙂 F- ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-vegetarian-and-runners-dont-always-live-longer-after-all/614531/43 "2012-03-03T00:37:12Z")
> [@Alka\_Seltzer](#): > > I walk about 15 miles a week. It’s something I enjoy doing, and it gives me a better chance of retaining my health into later life. Likewise, that’s far more important to me than the prospect of living longer. This. A lot of people want to live a healthy lifestyle because it enhances their life now, today. I am not doing it to try an outlive anyone. I also agree with the statements on genetics and lifestyle. My paternal grandparents lived into their 90s. My father into his mid 70s. Lifestyle can over ride genetics, too. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-vegetarian-and-runners-dont-always-live-longer-after-all/614531/44 "2012-03-03T01:09:12Z")
Technically, Runners have lived as long as they are allowed to before Carousel. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-vegetarian-and-runners-dont-always-live-longer-after-all/614531/45 "2012-03-03T01:37:13Z")
The OP assumes that for Davy Jones, his life was cut short. But we don’t know how long Davy Jones would have lived if he hadn’t exercised and stayed away from meat. Maybe in an alternative universe, he would have died at 45. Maybe in another universe, he would have died at 60, after years of congestive heart failure and dialysis. Maybe compared to all the other possible outcomes, the Davy Jones of this universe lived the longest, healthiest life. In that case, he deserves kudos. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-vegetarian-and-runners-dont-always-live-longer-after-all/614531/46 "2012-03-03T01:40:48Z")
I experimented with giving up meat about thirty years ago. That’s when health food stores were these tiny little hole in the wall places with ex hippies running them. My longest period without beef or pork was five months. I never have liked fish. So my protein was mostly soybean curd and other soy items from the health food store. Lots of yogurt too. Lots of horrible tasting Carob bars instead of chocolate and of course everything at those early health food stores cost triple what a Snickers bar cost. I finally decided it just wasn’t worth it. It’s like telling a 20 year old they’ll never, ever again have a BJ. But they’ll live to 99. Quality of life has to play a factor in your lifestyle choices. So, I continued having sex and eating my occasional steak or burger. 😉 Trying hard to keep the fats and meat in moderation. Now, I hear about long term vegetarians with arteries cleaner than a 18 year olds. But, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll live to a 100. As others have mentioned heredity is a big factor that just can’t be overcome. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-vegetarian-and-runners-dont-always-live-longer-after-all/614531/47 "2012-03-03T02:05:43Z")
Speaking of those old time hippie health food stores. Remember that funky smell they always had? Its called patchouli, an oil they used as perfume and supposedly an aphrodisiac. Couldn’t go near those places back then without encountering it. I never minded. I even dated one of the older hippie ladies for awhile. ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-vegetarian-and-runners-dont-always-live-longer-after-all/614531/48 "2012-03-03T03:09:15Z")
A good diet and exercise improve mainly the quality of life. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-vegetarian-and-runners-dont-always-live-longer-after-all/614531/49 "2012-03-03T03:23:09Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > My kid sister, an obese smoker who doesn’t run marathons by any stretch of the imagination, loves to say: “Eat well, exercise, die anyway.” I’m sure that would be her response to this bit of news. Russian saying (it rhymes in Russian): “If you don’t smoke and don’t drink, you will die very healthy.” (“Кто не курит и не пьет, тот здоровеньким помрет”). ---
**Author:** ![yams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/848f3c/32.png) [@yams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yams)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-vegetarian-and-runners-dont-always-live-longer-after-all/614531/50 "2012-03-03T03:27:36Z")
> [@GreenElf](#): > > A good diet and exercise improve mainly the quality of life. False! Positive health benefits from regular, endurance exercise include, but are not limited to: reduced blood pressure, decreased triglycerides and LDL, increased HDL, improved insulin sensitivity, enhanced fibrinolytics (better at getting rid of clots), enhanced endothelial function (healthier blood vessels are less prone to athersclerosis), decreased myocardial demand for oxygen, and improved myocardial perfusion. There are tons of studies out there that show that exercise is more than just a way to shed pounds and stay active. Example: “Potential Mechanisms of Improved Myocardial Perfusion with Exercise Training in CAD Patients,” which shows that exercise can help promote the formation of collateral circulation, correct endothelial dysfunction, and reverse existing coronary atherosclerosis. From **rachelellogram** > [@](#): > > ``` > Maybe he just had a lower genetic life expectancy than average. You can do everything to reduce your risk of a heart attack, but if you have a weak heart, it's going to go even if you eat tofu and exercise all the time. Think of it this way: perhaps if he didn't live such a healthy life, he would have died 10 years ago. > > ``` No! While someone with a “weak heart” might not never have the cardiovascular capacity as someone with a genetic awesome-freak heart, they can improve their fitness and, more importantly, heart health immensely with regular exercise. love yams!! ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-vegetarian-and-runners-dont-always-live-longer-after-all/614531/51 "2012-03-03T04:31:33Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > Exercise and eat a good diet, but there is nothing quite as effective as having long lived relatives. Tell me about it. Extreme longevity runs in my wife’s paternal family. Bastids! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-vegetarian-and-runners-dont-always-live-longer-after-all/614531/52 "2012-03-03T04:38:27Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I finally decided it just wasn’t worth it. It’s like telling a 20 year old they’ll never, ever again have a BJ. But they’ll live to 99. Quality of life has to play a factor in your lifestyle choices. Even with a strict vegan diet, you won’t live forever. It’ll just seem like it. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-vegetarian-and-runners-dont-always-live-longer-after-all/614531/53 "2012-03-03T04:38:51Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > F- Haha. I’m just explaining my personal beliefs; if I wanted to spend any part of my life digging through hundreds of studies and citing them in an attempt to prove myself right, I’d be in college! ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-vegetarian-and-runners-dont-always-live-longer-after-all/614531/54 "2012-03-03T04:42:09Z")
Yeah, OK. If you’re not going to bother posting the cites that back up your statements, then don’t mention that your beliefs are “based on many studies” in the first place. Just say “this is unsubstantiated stuff that I like to believe” and leave it at that. ---
**Author:** ![Renifer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Renifer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renifer)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2012, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-vegetarian-and-runners-dont-always-live-longer-after-all/614531/55 "2012-03-03T05:04:35Z")
When Brittany Murphy died of an unexpected heart failure, there was all this conjecture about her having an eating disorder, because eating disorder victims, if they die from their disease, often die from heart failure. And I think marathon runners or intense athletes often suffer health problems, so too much exercise can be just as damaging for the heart. That doesn’t seem to be the issue for Davey Jones (nor was it, as it turned out, for Brittany Murphy) but I’m not really surprised about stories about people who work out all the time not making it to the age 100. In my experience people who “work out all the time” often pick up some unhealthy habits. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-vegetarian-and-runners-dont-always-live-longer-after-all/614531/56 "2012-03-04T18:56:35Z")
I remember seeing a list of the top factors of longevity: 1. Genetics (what are you going to do about that?) 2. Not smoking 3. Exercising 4. Taking care of your teeth 5. Diet ---
**Author:** ![Docta\_G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Docta\_G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Docta_G)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-vegetarian-and-runners-dont-always-live-longer-after-all/614531/57 "2012-03-04T19:40:04Z")
> [@Alka\_Seltzer](#): > > I walk about 15 miles a week. It’s something I enjoy doing, and it gives me a better chance of retaining my health into later life. Likewise, that’s far more important to me than the prospect of living longer. > > I have to ask, why do you believe this? Because it makes him feel better. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-vegetarian-and-runners-dont-always-live-longer-after-all/614531/58 "2012-03-04T20:54:45Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > God, if I could only go back in time, I’d run Jim Fixx over before he dropped of a heart attack, and stop the “Nya nya! Running kills you!” Guilty. ☹ Then I found out that he had a family and personal history of heart disease, but was not under a cardiologist’s care. Not smart. Also, he died in 1984. We’ve had major advances in cardiac care since then, including huge improvements in the understanding of the role cholesterol plays in heart disease. He may not have lived longer under modern medicine, but he’d have had a better shot. And what was said upthread about the difference between the odds, and the “payout” for any particular person. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-guess-vegetarian-and-runners-dont-always-live-longer-after-all/614531.md?page=2)