At the age of 102, Deborah Szekely still works three days a week for the fitness resort and spa she started in 1940 with her then-husband.
She dances between labor, exercise, and being mindful—a habit she has been fastidiously honing for over a hundred years. The lifestyle that underpins her extraordinary longevity has changed the wellness industry. Szekely’s odyssey holds lessons about the fragile dance of aging and vitality.
The way she lives is a guide on the ways of good health, recently coming out to reveal her secrets to longevity—principles that surprisingly align with modern scientific research.
The Secrets to a Life Well-Lived: Invest in the Basics of Physical Activity Szekely explains “tried and true” exercise forms the foundation of building and maintaining a healthy life, as reported by Barrons in April. “It’s not so much the particular exercise itself; the point is that one should expend enough energy to be out of breath and to sweat,” Szekely explained.
“If you’re huffing and puffing, you’re probably doing it right,” she said. A 2019 study in The BMJ noted that those leading sedentary lives—a daily average of 9.5 hours with no activity—increased the risk of mortality by a factor of two over their more active peers.
The study also learned that no level of physical activity, regardless of intensity, was linked to a reduced risk for all-cause mortality. Szekely, too, revealed via Women’s World that she follows a daily regimen of walking at least one mile, in most days in the serenity of the local parks.
2. Maintain a Nutrient-Rich Meal Plan
Szekely rebuffs fad diets and touts food as a “way of life,” Barrons reported. Dietitian Elena Paravantes recently told Business Insider that the best path to healthy eating is through incremental, long-term changes in diets.
Szekely has always been a pescatarian for as far as she can remember, but most importantly, she eats a lot of fresh and natural foods. A lot if not most of her foods are even derived from the farm of her ranch. For breakfast, Women’s World reveals that her usual meal includes bananas and yogurt, although she had also once in a while splurged in her weakness: coffee ice cream.
According to BI, a 2020 study found that consumption of predominantly plant-based whole food was associated with lower blood pressure and heart disease risk.
3. Focus on Your Attitude and Choices
“The world has plenty of troubles, and you can’t fix them all,” Szekely told Women’s World. “When you worry, you make them worse. When you don’t worry, you make them better.”
Szekely also avoids dwelling on the past and even said to CNBC it is a waste of time. Instead, she suggests that rephrasing of negative thoughts to something a little more constructive, and keep looking ahead rather than looking back on things that cannot be changed, she told Barrons.
Research has clearly shown that centenarians have a positive attitude, and do take on challenges as opportunities. In 2023, a longevity company, LongeviQuest, attempted to uncover the secrets of unusually long lives by interviewing four supercentenarians.
LongeviQuest president Yumi Yamamoto said that throughout her life, she was exposed to so many different older people, but what became common among them all seemed to be these healthy practices: eating moderately and sleeping at regular times, and overall balance.
4. Nurture Community Connections
“Community is the key to longevity. The well-being of our neighbors is not just important—it is a necessity,” said Szekely in an interview with Barron’s. “Without the health of those around you, it’s hard to keep your own.”.
A 2021 meta-analysis published in Frontiers in Psychology documented a meaningful relationship between strong social support networks and a reduced life span. Researchers at Purdue University in Indiana concluded in a 2024 study that the factors of positive interpersonal relationships, extended years of life, and the continued capacity to walk, climb stairs, and carry groceries were all intertwined.
After a major scientific breakthrough last year—in which the successful gene transfer from naked mole rats, well known for their extreme longevity and resistance to age-related diseases, into mice was done—new hopes of extending the human life span have been brought forward.
This article was originally published on ibtimes. Read the original article.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is Deborah Szekely’s secret to her long life?
According to Deborah Szekely, the secret behind her living long is in her balanced life, which has seen her engage in constant exercise, healthy diet, mental resilience, and social bonding.
2. How has Szekely influenced the wellness industry?
Szekely was a forerunner of the wellness movement and co-founded a resort that is, today, considered the archetype of holistic health and wellness practices.
3. What are some of the benefits of the pescatarian diet?
A pescatarian diet rich in fruits and vegetables and fish has been linked to a high intake of health promoting compounds that reduces the risk of heart disease, consequently leading to a longer life.
4. How much exercise do you think is required to age gracefully?
Exercise is also an important part of successful aging as it tends to assuage and maintain physical health and minimizes the potential risks for age-related diseases leading to better quality of life.
5. What role does community play in longevity?
Community and social connections are vital for longevity due to the reason that it can provide emotional support, reduce stress, and finally contribute to overall well-being.