If you want advice about staying healthy in your 80s, who better to ask than two 80-year-olds who have dedicated their careers to public health?
Recently Jane E. Brody, who has written The Times’s Personal Health column for 45 years, and Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, who for 37 years has led the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, met via Zoom for the first time to talk about living well as octogenarians. They shared laughs, talked about the challenges of exercising with a security detail and offered advice for thriving as you age.
“Take care of yourself, get some reasonable sleep, don’t get overcome by stress, a good diet,” said Dr. Fauci, who turned 80 in December 2020. “Enjoy life, but don’t do things in excess. Exercise is really important. I think that the fact that I’ve been a marathon and 10K runner for the last multiple decades has been very important in my staying fit, looking fit and feeling fit.”
Ms. Brody, who celebrated her 80th birthday this month, agreed. “I think you have to continue doing that,” she said. “People ask me, ‘How do you do it?’ I said, ‘Well, I don’t stop.’ If you stop, it’s all over. Don’t stop. Keep going, keep going.”
Listen to their conversation.
