Health in the Boardroom: A Question of Time Management or Exercise?

Angioplasty or Exercise, which would you choose? This was the title of a blog post on Ecademy that I received from Dr. Gaby Cora in late August. As I eventually had to admit that the tightening waste line of my pants had nothing to do with being shrunk in the wash or some cruel conspiracy on the part of my tailor taking-in the waste band, Dr. Gaby's timely post was an exclamation point that at 50 my former six pack was threatening to turn into a one pack (or paunch). The only answer to her question crystallized when she added "This is obviously not a surprise to many but what may surprise you is how few people exercise consistently knowing the benefits to the heart, the brain and overall Wellbeing." With more options than time, many of us find ourselves on the unhealthy treadmill of a busy schedule, poor eating habits and an exercise routine that amounts to a power walk to the fridge for a late night snack. Did I mention poor eating habits? While my mother lived to just shy of her 90th birthday, my father suffered his first heart attack in his early fifties. Succumbing to the statistics of the day in which the expected life span after a coronary was limited to 13 years, he died at the relatively young age of 66. While I, unlike my father, do not smoke I cannot help but contemplate whose hereditary influence will be most predominant in determining my longevity. I can only hope that like my head of hair - I am the only man in the family to have hair beyond the age of 35 - I too follow my mother's gene influence and live to enjoy my grandchildrens' wedding. However, and as we will discover today in our conversation with Dr. Gaby, we do not have to be spectators of hope. We can actually be "pro-active" (emphasis on active) influencers of blissful longevity. Am I glad that Dr. Gaby sent me her post . . . now where is my old football jacket from high school?