Does anyone actually know of anyone who had an unhealthy lifestyle but lived to a ripe old age?

My mother is almost 95. She lives alone in a house that is too big for her and won't move into a more suitable place. Makes most of her own meals ( a few are made by family but she is picky so I don't know how much of it she throws away.) She makes herself porridge with cream for breakfast with a mug of sherry.

And there's me thinking 80s is not really old 😯

My grandad, smoked heavily all his life, liked a pint, ate a unhealthy diet (pie and chips, sausages, bacon etc)and lived into his 80's in good health

Seajaye

No.
And for the one in every hundred that bucks the trend 99 don't, and die prematurely whether it be lung cancer, organ failure or heart attack .
The majority of us never really know how our cards are marked in terms of good or bad genes, but we can control excessive intake of nicotine, alcohol or calories if we want to reduce the risk of premature death, but there are no absolute guarantees in life..

And for the one in every hundred that bucks the trend 99 don't, and die prematurely

No, 99 people out of 100 do not die prematurely.

My MIL. she’s 89. Eats an awful diet. Cakes biscuits crisps sweets. etc. no fruit or veg ever. She’s got out of bed for the last 20years gone to the front room and sat there all day watching TV. Never goes out. No exercise. Over weight. But healthy and always has been.

No.
And for the one in every hundred that bucks the trend 99 don't, and die prematurely whether it be lung cancer, organ failure or heart attack .
The majority of us never really know how our cards are marked in terms of good or bad genes, but we can control excessive intake of nicotine, alcohol or calories if we want to reduce the risk of premature death, but there are no absolute guarantees in life..

Well, there are a number of famous people such as Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Ringo Starr who are in their early eighties. I don't think they had a healthy lifestyle when they were younger.

Well Iv heard these terms like 'something gets you in the end', it's a lottery etc. It is I guess as none of us know exactly what's going on inside
I believe stress can be the tip of iceberg before anything else. And we each different to some degree, It can seem the ones that don't bother about advice etc can do very well by just following their likes
🤔 maybe the bp and Colestral numbers aren't the B all afterall 😊

My maternal grandmother lived until she was 102, had smoked 60 cigarettes a day for most of her adult life, worked in a mill from the age of 12, brought up not only her own three children .. but two of her grandchildren too - and eaten everything that we are told we should avoid. My mother, never smoked, didn’t drink alcohol and died unexpectedly at the age of 68!

My godfather was a GP and smoked 60 a day, originally untipped, and was an enthusiastic drinker. His diet wasn't exactly healthy either but he lived into his mid-80s.

Perhaps you could persuade him to have his one three as a hot toddy, in bed, Sue.

Yes my dad. Currently 95. Never smoked cigarettes but was heavily into cigars - thankfully not any more. Gets through a litre of whisky every week plus lunchtime sherry. Dreadful diet; is actually putting on weight at 95 thanks to crisps/biscuits/nuts etc - the aperitifs before a meal. There’s no point in trying to change anything as he’s got this far, but he rings me in the evenings sounding very befuddled and I’m more worried about him falling after a couple of large whiskies that I am about his liver!

Our nextdoor neighbour. Drinks 4-5 pints of beer minimum virtually everyday. Plus he eats bacon butties, beefburgers etc- basically a very unhealthy diet. He'll have at least 3 beefburgers watching a local rugby match. He weighs about 25stone or more. According to him the doctor says there's nothing wrong with him.

Winston Churchill. Lived to the age of 90, despite being overweight, a cigar smoker and a heavy drinker.

I know some people don't like the phrase 'positive thinking' and I can see it might come over as a kind of Pollyanna idea, but actually there is now a lot of evidence for the health benefits of it. It does not mean pretending there are no difficult things in our lives - you can be positive and also have common sense and accept what is real - but still look for the up side of things. Maybe easier to think of it as optimism - choosing to focus on what is good and to be grateful for, with feet still on the ground.

I knew an old lady who live to 101.
She smoked all her adult life, and enjoyed a daily sherry. She had an accident in her 90s resulting in her having a below the knee amputation. It didn't stop her enjoying life.

silverlining48

I was never much of a smoker but I did start early and stopped mid 70 s when pregnant. Started it again until second pregnancy and then gave up for good. Hate it now.
Would have given my two hell if they had smoked but they and their partners don’t. In fact I don’t know anyone who does smoke.

I had to read that twice, silverlining48. T
The first time I read it, I thought you had given up smoking in your mid 70's, which made the being pregnant part incredible 😂

My lovely Father in law lived to 93, smoked a lot all his life, drank every day but not always until he was drunk, lived on roasts, fish and chips etc but worked until a couple of weeks before his death, after retiring from a factory job he did peoples gardens… think a long healthy life can often be down to lots of different factors

my mum's next door neighbours worked in a cigarette factory, and they got a "bonus" each week of free fags!!

Yes she did and she loved looking at her passbook to see just how much she hadn’t wasted on cigarettes.

I was never much of a smoker but I did start early and stopped mid 70 s when pregnant. Started it again until second pregnancy and then gave up for good. Hate it now.
Would have given my two hell if they had smoked but they and their partners don’t. In fact I don’t know anyone who does smoke.

I'm amazed by people who give up, just like that.
Did she treat herself from her savings?

Yes. A male relative who lived to 83 and who drank and smoked.

Yes and she just decided one day to stop. We were taking them out that weekend to a fancy place in London fir dh birthday, and I thought she would cave in as everyone smoked in the 60 s even me, but to my surprise she never smoked that night or ever again.

silverlining48

That made me laugh. 🤭 not that it’s funny.

After a lifetime of smoking my mil gave up in her 60 s and put what she Woukd have spent on cigarettes into a jar.
After she filled the jar she opened her first ever savings account and was rightly proud and astonished at how much she had saved and how much she had spent over the years.

It's quite an achievement, to give up, and stay given up.