Well as Eddie Murphy once said a healthy colon. lol if you remember this skit. Actually the first thing is your genes. Then your lifestyle-if you see the 100 year olds they interview they all say they have always been thin and did not have any weight fluctuations, except pregnancy, for their lives. Also the foods you eat and don't say no red meat because 100 year olds did not do that all those years, but more of a balance in their diet. Lastly physical exercise through work all their lives.

Genetics.

Yes, you can do things like eating healthy, exercising, not smoking, etc., but then there are those people who live into their 100's who have smoked and drank all of their lives. I think you can improve your odds of a long life by making good lifestyle choices, but it does seem to really come down to your DNA. Some people are just "programmed" to live a long time, and some people who live healthy lives are "programmed" to die young.

I worry less about how long I'll live and more about how usable my body will be during my life. I try to keep my body fit and functional so I can enjoy my time here.

I used to think that it was eating right and exercising, but that was until that jogger on the beach got hit by an airplane. That was such an unfortunate happening and definitely an example of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

It does probably have something to do with genetics. But also lifestyle. For example, there are studies that say that laughter helps you live longer and that having pets in your life does too (that later one lowers your blood pressure I believe). So, it's probably a combination of things. I'm curious to see if as many people live past 100 today as they did in the past. All of the chemicals we ingest from food, the air, the ground, and just existing are probably shortening our lives. I once read an article that joggers in metropolitan cities actually ingest more pollution than non-joggers. So, I think it will definitely boil down to genetics and lifestyle.

My great grampa lived to be 95. He said he lived so long because he poured bacon grease over his eggs every morning! He was skinny as a rake, too. I hope it is genetics, because I have some great genes from him.

I do think exercise is important. I know I feel better when I am working out every day. I just don't have the sore muscles that plague me if I am out of shape. I think diet is important, too, but not so much eating "healthy" as just eating every day. I know that many people in the world die of malnutrition every day, just because they don't get enough to eat.

The human body is remarkably adaptive and could probably make do with a diet of just yogurt, as long as it got some every day.