There will certainly be genetic factors, or random accidents in the street — over which we exert essentially no influence.

But I certainly agree — that well-more than half of how one’s later life turns out. . . turns on which choices we make now — and keep making, well into our 80s. Here’s The UK Guardian’s study this morning, to back that notion up:

…Individuals bear at least 80% of the responsibility for their ill health in old age, according to a report aimed at challenging the belief that physical decline is… inevitable….

The report, launched at the Smart Ageing Summit in Oxford last week, argues that individuals have far greater control over their longevity than is commonly understood. The authors call on the government to take legislative action on alcohol comparable to restrictions on smoking.

Living Longer, Better — the Oxford Longevity Project’s first Age-less report — was co-authored by an interdisciplinary panel of UK-based experts in medicine, physiology, ageing and education policy. It was sponsored by Oxford Healthspan….

[From the report itself, then:] As they approach the age of 70, many people find themselves thinking about their own hopes for longevity: how they might best prepare to live in reasonably good health until they reach 90, or even for several years beyond that milestone…. This Report is for them – and also for their advisers, GPs, and other health-care professionals, and their advisers and trainers, for those who offer guidance to the public on best practice in the quest for enduring good health, for the media, and for the government…. [A]bove all, we hope it might change behaviour, and improve the lives of older people in the U.K., and indeed worldwide….

Sure — the correlation won’t be 1-to-1, in any individual case. But the broader object lesson is sound. Onward, smiling.

नमस्ते