There are many main points from the introduction and chapter one. I think one of the biggest takeaways is that the researchers discovered that many present day health recommendations are in fact wrong or ill-advised. I think this is an important point to remember from the introduction because so many individuals are too quick to believe the newest fad, whether it be a new diet, medication, or exercise, I think it is important to be skeptical and not be too quick to believe everything you hear.
I think another main point from this chapter is the idea of “individual pathways.” I think when reading this book, it is important to remember that we are all humans and we are all very unique and different. When reading about health and longevity it is important to remember that everyone starts with a different genetic background, home environment, degree of education, ect. I think it is essential to keep this idea in mind when reading because every individual does differ and the findings from this study are based on patterns detected in the participants.
I really enjoyed reading these first two chapters and beginning to develop an understanding of what this book will incorporate. One of the things I really like about this book is how the authors include measures and self-assessments that the readers can complete, similar to the questions that Dr. Terman used in his study. Incorporating these questions, allow readers to self-reflect on their own health behaviors and incorporate change if they deem necessary.
I think I will really enjoy reading this book because I can relate the findings of this study to my own family. I have a grandmother who is 90 years old, and I regularly wonder how she is still incredibly healthy at her age. Prior to reading this book, I believed that it may be because she attends church daily, keeps a very busy social calendar, she never smoked, and has always remained active. Although these could still be factors, I think this book will provide me with new insight that I may have never considered, such as her personality. Therefore, I think it will be interesting to uncover the findings from this longitudinal study.
I loved that you brought in a personal family member to connect to the book more; that’s a really great idea. I think I’ll try to do the same thing with some of my family members to think about their individual aspects and how they have been so healthy in their lives.
I like how you recapped the idea of “individual pathways” because it was one of my favorite parts of this section. It highlights that we’re all different and will tackle our issues in different ways. That is not to say that one way is better than the other, so long as health problems are being solved.