I Don't Want To Be Old When I Get Old

I used to believe that half of nursing home residents would not have needed to be there had they known what to do about healthy living and done it. I thought that genetics was 50% responsible for their frailties.

Now studies indicate that genetics accounts for a much smaller percentage of how we become when we are old. The MacArthur Foundation research came up with 37% and a more recent study claims that genetics accounts for only 17% of older age disabilities.

When we first come into the world our genes do account for most of the way we are. Environment in the womb, how our mother lived and ate had an impact but our genes were the big decider. As we grow and age the environment and our lifestyle begins to entwine with our genes and act on our bodies and our brains. Most of those born with terrible genetic problems die off before they become old. How and where we live becomes more of a deciding factor in our health and mobility and disposition the older we become.