Originally Posted by
Lemond1985
Yes, but the $64,000 question is, "When middle-aged people exercise, does the exercise itself make them any healthier, or were they just healthier to begin with, and we are merely looking at selection bias?"
Really? Well, there's my 87 y.o. aunt whom we begged for 30 years to join a gym. She finally did, at 81 IIRC. Her goal was to get strong enough to be able to walk enough to shop in the local mall (she could hardly walk). She joined a gym, hired a personal trainer twice a week, lost 30 lbs, deadlifted 90 lbs, heaves tires, has walked a mile several times, etc. She's still at it with the same trainer. My PCP says that if he could prescribe one thing for all his patients, it would be exercise.
At 74, all I have to do is look around me. Yes, it works. No, one doesn't need to be talented. In my teens I was healthy, but it was all I could do to run an 8 minute mile. It's all just persistence.