From: "D. Tweed" <[log in to unmask]> <snip Ming's posting and D Tweed's comments> However, the other piece of evidence that doesn't seem to fit with the theory is the way that there seems to an strong general trend towards growing more obese as you get older all over the world, with only a very weak dependence on processed/unprocessed/ev-fit-acceptable food or the degree of physical exertion required by the lifestyle. It would be nice, and convincing about evfit, if there were some statistically valid (i.e., epidemiological) evidence that the principles expounded by ev fit do correlate with improved health and energy. ___cheers,_dave________________________________________________________ www.cs. bris.ac.uk/~tweed/pi.htm| email: [log in to unmask] work tel: (0117) 954-5250 | Dave I row 3-4 mornings a week along with 20 other men aged 48-73. The best of us are pretty competitive at the international level for our age. Recently one of our crew (who is a cardiologist and has accompanied the Australian Olympic) tested our members. He was interested to see if the public standards for health, fitness, heart health etc. which are generally thought to correlate decline with age are actually far more closely correlated to a decline in physical activity. His research bore out his hypothesis. There is an article currently on the New York Times site which demolishes the "220 minus your age" formula for working out maximum heart rate. It shows how the formula was derived from a sample over-representing people with heart problems and was thrown together at the last minute. The testing of our squad members seems to indicate that a lot of other standards may well be over-represented with people who have had to visit their doctors for ill-health. We all went up to our maximum heart rates on a treadmill. No dropping out at 75% or 90% - that WAS NOT FUN. But I came out - at 52 years - with a VO2 Max of 71. The threshold to get into the Australian Olympic rowing squad is 72. So, although the possibility exists that Art is genetically endowed - hell, even I might be similarly endowed - the fact is we both exercise regularly and intensely in a variety of activities. So the possibility also exists that we are physically genetically normal but it is our "endowed" exercising (since 1965 in my case) which - by the Ockham's Razor principle - is the most likely causal factor. My wife, despite my example (which I do not press her to follow) has tried on a few occasio ns to get into exercise. She has always dropped out. It is possible that Art and I are genetically endowed with the willpower to exercise regularly and intensely, or that we do not experience the same extreme discomfort, or that we are more inclined to press through the discomfort. This would also explain why people like us appear to be intolerant of others who do not persist with their good exercise/diet/health practices. We find it is easy and cannot, therefore, see why others should not find it similarly easy. These are just speculations, but they fit the facts as I have observed them. Keith