I was thinking about this question this week, and wanted to open it up for general discussion here. I'm posing this as a general question.. but since it's not a "Controversial subject", hopefully it should be a civilized discussion.
My question is.. How much do family genes come into play with lifespan/longenevity?
My family history with life span is all over the place. Then again, several of my relatives. My mom and paternal grandfather, with their heavy smoking which caused their cancer, and deaths at young ages, did themselves in with their habits.
On my father's side: My father's maternal family.. has a history of heart problems, yet lived extremely long lives.. My great grandfather had one or multiple heart attacks in his 70s, and lived until he was 89, almost 40 years ago. My paternal grandmother had open heart surgery at 67, and lived until 2 months short of her 93rd birthday. My great aunt, on that side, is still alive at age 95. As everyone who has seen my posts is aware, my dad had two angioplasties, 11 years ago at age 63, and supposedly is "Fine", God willing, at almost age 74.
On my mom's side.. it is a far different story. While they were all heavy smokers, and, as everyone who knows me is aware, 50 years of smoking caused my mom's cancer, and death, two months after her 74th birthday. My maternal grandparents.. were both gone before age 80. My grandfather was four months short of his 80th birthday, and my grandmother was 77.
I'm not very familiar with my paternal grandfather's family history. He passed away at age 71 from cancer due to smoking.
So.. my family history is really all over the place. I have relatives who have lived into their 90s, and others who didn't make it out of their 70s.
Which makes me think: How long can I really expect my life span to be?
As those who know me are aware.. I don't drink alcohol, smoke.. or take any drugs. I'm not overweight, really. I exercise now 3-4 times a week. My only "Vice", might be a few too many sweets, but I'm even trying to cut that down, and the Diet drinks that I drink.
My thought is maybe I would have the average of my two sides of the family,. and perhaps live.. until I'm 80.. or a bit beyond. My dad says I'm going to take after my grandmother, and live until my mid 90s, but I'm thinking that;'s because of the thing with a parent not wanting to think about their child dying.
The point of this post though.. for general discussion.., Do forum members think genes determine a persons life span, or does lifestyle really determine the outcome?
My question is.. How much do family genes come into play with lifespan/longenevity?
My family history with life span is all over the place. Then again, several of my relatives. My mom and paternal grandfather, with their heavy smoking which caused their cancer, and deaths at young ages, did themselves in with their habits.
On my father's side: My father's maternal family.. has a history of heart problems, yet lived extremely long lives.. My great grandfather had one or multiple heart attacks in his 70s, and lived until he was 89, almost 40 years ago. My paternal grandmother had open heart surgery at 67, and lived until 2 months short of her 93rd birthday. My great aunt, on that side, is still alive at age 95. As everyone who has seen my posts is aware, my dad had two angioplasties, 11 years ago at age 63, and supposedly is "Fine", God willing, at almost age 74.
On my mom's side.. it is a far different story. While they were all heavy smokers, and, as everyone who knows me is aware, 50 years of smoking caused my mom's cancer, and death, two months after her 74th birthday. My maternal grandparents.. were both gone before age 80. My grandfather was four months short of his 80th birthday, and my grandmother was 77.
I'm not very familiar with my paternal grandfather's family history. He passed away at age 71 from cancer due to smoking.
So.. my family history is really all over the place. I have relatives who have lived into their 90s, and others who didn't make it out of their 70s.
Which makes me think: How long can I really expect my life span to be?
As those who know me are aware.. I don't drink alcohol, smoke.. or take any drugs. I'm not overweight, really. I exercise now 3-4 times a week. My only "Vice", might be a few too many sweets, but I'm even trying to cut that down, and the Diet drinks that I drink.
My thought is maybe I would have the average of my two sides of the family,. and perhaps live.. until I'm 80.. or a bit beyond. My dad says I'm going to take after my grandmother, and live until my mid 90s, but I'm thinking that;'s because of the thing with a parent not wanting to think about their child dying.
The point of this post though.. for general discussion.., Do forum members think genes determine a persons life span, or does lifestyle really determine the outcome?
