{"id":17195,"date":"2026-04-22T18:42:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T18:42:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/?p=17195"},"modified":"2026-05-14T10:53:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T10:53:12","slug":"ways-to-live-and-be-healthy-at-age-95","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthyaging.net\/magazine\/spring-summer-2026\/ways-to-live-and-be-healthy-at-age-95\/","title":{"rendered":"Ways to Live and Be Healthy At Age 95"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper<\/p><\/p>\n

W<\/span>ith an average life expectancy of American men of 77 years and American women 82 years, is it possible to be alive, healthy, not retired, and enjoying life to the fullest with no signs of dementia at 95 years of age?<\/p>\n

The answer is yes. That is the way I am living, having just celebrated my 95th birthday on March 4, 2026. Of course, this is a case history of one but I have multiple examples of this happening in many of my patients since I began practicing preventive medicine in 1956.<\/p>\n

You may attribute people who live long lives due to having good genes. In reality, our genes only account for up to 20%, with the rest being a healthy lifestyle. My father, a practicing dentist in Oklahoma City, passed away suddenly at age 77 and my mother at age 82.<\/p>\n

Each of my three siblings are alive and active. My older sister will be 98 this year, my younger sister 92, and my younger brother 89. My sisters try to remain active and my brother continues to jog two miles several times a week.<\/p>\n

Lifestyle Matters More than Genetics<\/h3>\n

When I was born in Oklahoma City on March 4, 1931, my father was adamant about proper nutrition, particularly limiting sugar in the diet but felt that physical exercise could have adverse effects, particularly if you exercised too much.<\/p>\n

I decided not to play high school football but I did concentrate on basketball and ran track. In my senior year in 1949, I not only won the state title in the one-mile run (missing the state record by only one second) but also made all-state in basketball that year. My father never saw me run in a track meet or play basketball; my mother was my biggest supporter driving miles to watch me compete.<\/p>\n

My father thought if you exercised too much you would get an athletic heart, as was the common belief at the time. I also learned about the athletic heart syndrome in medical school. The assumption was that this was muscular enlargement completely. But to the contrary, it was the dilatation of the left ventricle, not increase in muscle size.<\/p>\n

The resting heart rate of a male is approximately 72 but a highly conditioned athlete would be in the range of 55-60, sometimes even lower. A female will have a resting heart rate of 78 but if aerobically conditioned, the heart rate will drop to at least 60-65 beats per minute.<\/p>\n

This conservation of energy is available to each of us as we age.<\/p>\n

Longevity is a popular topic. Many books have been written on subjects with a variety of recommendations. Through our Cooper Clinic<\/a> database of more than 150,000 patients and 300,000 stress tests, we have the best scientific evidence that have proven \u201cexercise is medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n

In one 10-year study, 10,000 patients (20% women) were followed. The data showed if participants improved from the very poor to the poor fitness category, they could increase their life expectancy by up to 6 years and decrease all causes of mortality by 58%!<\/p>\n

If they improved from the very poor to the good or excellent category, their life expectancy was 9 years with a decrease in all-cause mortality of 65%. So, the best exercise investment is to go up one category on the fitness scale which can be achieved by nearly everyone who gets at least 30 minutes of aerobic activity, collective or sustained, most days of the week.<\/p>\n

That translates to 150 minutes a week which is also recommended by the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association and other national organizations. \u201cNo drug can replicate the benefits of an active lifestyle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Strength, Balance and Staying Independent<\/h3>\n

While cardiovascular endurance is vital to building one\u2019s overall physical fitness, strength training builds the muscles needed to do most daily activities and movements such as getting up off the ground, rising out of a chair or walking up a flight of stairs.<\/p>\n

Strength training is especially important for people 50 and older.<\/p>\n

Here is a suggested guide:<\/p>\n