MENU
 

PRE TAX NTA |$3.53

Value as at close of business on 7 March 2025

Secret to a long life cheaper than you think celebrity physician Peter Attia reveals

It was a TV show meant to promote longevity. But soon after Chris Hemsworth appeared with celebrity physician Peter Attia on Disney+ documentary series Limitless, it seemed to have cut short the actor’s career.

Headlines around the world screamed that the movie star, who has built his career on playing the Marvel superhero Thor, was taking a break from acting after it was revealed during the series that he had a genetic predisposition to Alzheimer’s disease.

Turns out the revelation that he carried two copies of the APOE4 gene - which has been linked to an increased risk of developing degenerative brain disorder - and his impending absence from movie screens, was a coincidence or conflated at the very least.

“I don’t think I’m sharing anything that Chris wouldn’t be comfortable sharing,” Dr Attia, 50, tells The Weekend Australian.

“I know Chris wasn’t taking time off because of that knowledge (that he carried the APOE4 gene). Chris was taking time off because Chris was exhausted. Chris has worked insanely hard for a decade - never not working on a project.‍

“And I think that was taking a toll on him. Regardless of what his genetic predisposition was to Alzheimer’s disease, Limitless provided a great opportunity for Chris to say ‘OK, I really do need to take a little bit of a break’ - even the production of Limitless was far more taxing than it was ever billed to any of us. In Chris’s case, he was able to take some time to recharge with his family.”

And this encapsulates Dr Attia’s main piece of advice when people ask him what is the secret to living longer.

The fountain of youth and keys to a long life has been pursued for a millennia. It’s as old as man. It’s the question centenarians get asked when they are propped up in their easy chair on their big day and get peppered with questions about how they have reached such a grand age, with their answers as varied as their years.

“I think you see why every interview with a centenarian trying to elucidate the cause of or drivers of their lifespan produces some of the most comical responses,” Dr Attia says.‍

“It could be more cigars, more cigarettes, more whiskey, more family, more commitment - it‘s a random generator of responses.”

The Sohn Hearts & Minds conference will be held at the Sydney Opera House on November 17.

But according to Dr Attia - who will speak at the Sohn Hearts & Minds in Sydney next month - nothing is completely random. He has built a career unearthing about what fuels a long life and shared his knowledge in the bestselling book Outlive: The Science & Art of Longevity.

And what creates a long life is less complex and less expensive than it appears. In fact, if you followed it literally, it would send you off to sleep.

Embracing boredom, is Dr Attia’s main piece of advice. It appears to fly in the face of Bob Dylan’s wisdom of a man who is “not busy being born is busy dying”. But being bored, surprisingly, has significant health benefits.

 

“I will say that it is probably the single hardest thing for high achieving people to do. And it‘s a discomfort that is almost unimaginable,” Dr Attia says.

“I think boredom is a very important thing. I think it‘s very healthy for us to be bored and Mother Nature/natural selection has hard wired us to not want to spend much time in that situation.

“And ironically, it might be more important today than it was 100,000 years ago. You could argue maybe 100,000 years ago, it wasn’t that important and that’s why natural selection made it so uncomfortable. But today, the world we live in could not have been anticipated by Darwin, and by Darwin I don’t mean the actual person of course, I mean, the forces of natural selection. And that’s I think exactly why in this hyperstimulating world, we all need a way to be bored.”

Dr Attia is highlighting the need to be able to switch off and rest - a tough task in the modern ‘always on’ era, where extreme business has become the norm. People can communicate like never before - receiving on average more than hundreds of notifications a day via text messages, social media alerts, emails advertising and more. It’s creating digital overload that is a main cause of flatlining productivity as more employees become burnt out.

“We need a way to be in nature,” Dr Attia says while speaking to The Weekend Australian on a video call.

“I mean, think about it, the fact that I‘m looking at you on a screen from inside an air conditioned room with perfect right angles everywhere, this can’t be really healthy for my nervous system.

“It‘s healthy for me in many ways, and I wouldn’t trade this for anything - I don’t want to be living outdoors, fending off lions and tigers. But I gave something up when I adopted this lifestyle and I think it’s important that we all spend time outdoors every single day, we all spend time in the asymmetry of nature. We all spend time looking at sunlight, we all spend time being uncomfortable in extreme temperatures.”

Peter Attia says we all need to find more time to spend outdoors.

While the Sohn Hearts & Minds conference will include rapid-fire stock picks from leading investment experts all over the globe, all of the events’ profits go to medical research with organisers targeting to raise $60m by next month.

Dr Attia labels his longevity research as medicine 3.0. He says there needs to be a shift from treating disease to preventing it in the first place, with longevity not just about reaching a ripe old age - but also living with a higher quality and more active life for longer.

“What I call medicine. 3.0 is really geared towards that degree of prevention. It‘s how do you live longer without atherosclerosis? How do you slow the progression of those things? And that’s probably where, you know, we won’t necessarily all get to be centenarians, I have no expectation that I will be given my genes, but I definitely think it adds years to life. And I think more importantly, it adds quality to life.

“To focus more on, ‘hey, when I‘m 80, how can I physically and cognitively function, the way I see a healthy 65 year old today?’ Boy, that has more bearing on the quality of your life than anything else because, you know, lifespan without healthspan is a curse.

“In fact most people are quite afraid of that. Nobody wants to live a long life and be suffering.

“So I think that what we really ought to be doing is focusing on healthspan focusing on what does the final decade of my life look like physically, cognitively, emotionally. Those are the three things that are going to define the quality of your life. And if I make sure that my actions today are setting me up, to have the best version of that final decade, what I call the marginal decade, then not only will that be exceptional, but everything leading up to it will be as well.”

And despite healthcare costs rising and the global dietary supplements market generating billions of dollars a year, Dr Attia says money can’t buy good health.

“The most expensive aspect is time. I mean, for most people to make the changes that would have the biggest impact on the length and quality of their life. Exercising every single day, eating reasonably well - yeah, that‘s going to cost a little bit more money. But it’s going to cost more time.

“It‘s good news in the sense that it’s the great equaliser. It’s bad news in that you can’t really cheat and cram for the test. You know, you can’t just say, ‘well, look, I’m willing to pay a premium for this, so therefore, I’m going to have a better experience’. I mean, it doesn’t really work that way.

“There are very, very wealthy people who have incredibly poor health. That there and then tells you, you can‘t really buy health. You can’t. On average, certainly poor socioeconomic status is associated with worse health. But at the individual level, that’s completely untrue - that’s evidenced by the fact that some of the richest people in the world are some of the least healthy.”

This article was originally posted by The Australian here.

Licensed by Copyright Agency. You must not copy this work without permission.


Disclaimer: This material has been prepared by Australian, published on 6 October 2023. HM1 is not responsible for the content of linked websites or content prepared by third party. The inclusion of these links and third-party content does not in any way imply any form of endorsement by HM1 of the products or services provided by persons or organisations who are responsible for the linked websites and third-party content. This information is for general information only and does not consider the objectives, financial situation or needs of any person. Before making an investment decision, you should read the relevant disclosure document (if appropriate) and seek professional advice to determine whether the investment and information is suitable for you.

Recent Posts

Read the latest insights
A curated list of HM1 investor updates, portfolio news and other interesting articles.
Read More
Reporting Season Insights: HM1 Core Portfolio Holdings
We spoke to our dedicated fund managers for an update on some of our major portfolio holdings following reporting season.
The investing megatrends you can’t ignore (and some you should rethink)
James Marlay of Livewire sat down with Vihari Ross of Antipodes (HM1 Conference Fund Manager) and James Tsinidis of Munro Partners (HM1 Core Fund Manager) to discuss the biggest megatrends shaping the future.
2025: Where to Find Market Opportunities
There are opportunities abound for investors with an active management mindset in 2025. Get more insights from one of HM1's Core Fund managers, Magellan.
Significant increase in profit and increased fully franked dividend
We're pleased to declare an increased half-year fully franked dividend of 8.0 cents per share payable in April 2025.
 

Reporting Season Insights: HM1 Core Portfolio Holdings

We spoke to our dedicated fund managers for an update on some of our major portfolio holdings following reporting season.

Read More
March 10th, 2025
 

The investing megatrends you can’t ignore (and some you should rethink)

James Marlay of Livewire sat down with Vihari Ross of Antipodes (HM1 Conference Fund Manager) and James Tsinidis of Munro Partners (HM1 Core Fund Manager) to discuss the biggest megatrends shaping the future.

Read More
March 3rd, 2025
 

2025: Where to Find Market Opportunities

There are opportunities abound for investors with an active management mindset in 2025. Get more insights from one of HM1's Core Fund managers, Magellan.

Read More
February 25th, 2025
 

Significant increase in profit and increased fully franked dividend

We're pleased to declare an increased half-year fully franked dividend of 8.0 cents per share payable in April 2025.

Read More
February 20th, 2025
 

Magellan's Elisa Di Marco - 3 Trends That Will Define The Next Decade

Elisa Di Marco of Magellan (HM1 Core Fund Manager) joined Equity Mates to unpack 3 big megatrends shaping our world today (and how we can invest in them).

Read More
February 7th, 2025
 

Nine top stock picks to prepare your portfolio for 2025

Health care, ride-sharing, and the emerging world of YouTube entertainers are among the industries leading investors have picked for growth in 2025.

Read More
January 21st, 2025
 

Resources fundies reveal top picks ahead of ‘stellar’ 2025

Some of Australia’s biggest resources funds are gearing up for a bumper start to the new year.

Read More
January 6th, 2025
 

Qiao Ma: finding killer companies, surviving the GFC & why founders win

Qiao Ma, Portfolio Manager of the Munro Partners joins Owen Rask on The Australian Investors Podcast.

Read More
January 6th, 2025
 

10 top fund managers reveal their long-term stock picks

With valuations stretched and geopolitical tensions high, the new year offers plenty of potholes for investors. 

Read More
December 28th, 2024
 

Rikki Bannan – Don’t get caught up in momentum

Conference Fund Manager Rikki Bannan, Executive Director at IFM Investors, joins Equity Mates to discuss her standout 2023 stock pick, Telix, and explore what opportunities lie ahead.

Read More
December 19th, 2024
 

Professor Jane Butler: Sparking Hope for Spinal Cord Injuries

In this episode of the Hearts & Minds Podcast, we sit down with Professor Jane Butler to discuss her groundbreaking research into spinal cord injuries.

Read More
December 10th, 2024
 

Nick Griffin – The Nvidia story is not over

Nick Griffin, Founding Partner & Chief Investment Officer of Munro Partners joined the Equity Mates podcast in their Summer Series.

Read More
December 9th, 2024
 

HM1 CEO Succession

Hearts and Minds Investments Limited advises that Paul Rayson intends to retire from the position of Chief Executive Officer, effective 19 February 2025.

Read More
December 5th, 2024
 

How Trump will impact equity markets

The United States has spoken. President Trump has returned to the White House. But how can we cut through the noise to reveal the investment, economic and geopolitical ramifications?

Read More
November 26th, 2024
 

Trump unifies top investors in decade-long bullish outlook for US

Nick Moakes, CIO of the $72 billion Wellcome Trust, told the conference that too many investors were banking on a return to the ultra-low interest rates that prevailed over the past decade.

Read More
November 20th, 2024
 

These rock-star stock picks could get markets talking next year

Eleven rock stars of international and local funds management took to stage – each tasked with picking and pitching one company whose shares will take off over the next year.

Read More
November 18th, 2024
 

Is anyone brave or stupid enough to bet against America?

Stock pickers have been punished for betting against the US. The choice between consensus and contrarianism on American exceptionalism is now harder than ever.

Read More
November 17th, 2024
 

Sohn: NYSE-listed Estee Lauder’s Northcape Capital pick

Northcape Capital’s Fleur Wright this gives a rare opportunity to buy a high quality company at an attractive price.

Read More
November 15th, 2024
 

Sohn ASX stock pick: Ellerston Capital’s Chris Kourtis backs Perpetual

Chris Kourtis has put his biggest bet on embattled Perpetual – picking one of the most hated stocks on the ASX – that he believes will soon be the ‘cheapest listed asset manager of scale in the universe’.

Read More
November 15th, 2024
 

AI start-ups a threat to incumbent big companies

Paul Bassat predicts emerging artificial intelligence companies will disrupt sectors and overtake established incumbent companies just as rapidly as the seismic shifts that took place when the internet emerged in the mid-1990s.

Read More
November 15th, 2024
 

Howard Marks and Sohn’s big stars reveal seven rules for investing

Among the stock picks and stunts at the Sohh Hearts & Minds event, Howard Marks and Nick Moakes provided investors with long-term rules for playing markets.

Read More
November 15th, 2024
 

Sohn investors position for bullish but bumpy Trump ride

Australia and the rest of the world must adjust to a new Trump presidency that will deliver an expected bull market but also disruption, with the leader in waiting prepared to “create pain” to get his way.

Read More
November 15th, 2024
 

Sohn stock picker experts name best shares to invest in for year ahead

‍Don’t overlook down and out silver miners, legacy skincare brands ready for a revival and a big financial company suffering from a severe case of shareholder wealth destruction.

Read More
November 15th, 2024
 

Eleven stock tips from Sohn to get you through 2025

“There’s no finer place for the finance festival than in the festival city,” said Matthew Grounds. He, along with fellow Barrenjoey co-executive chairman Guy Fowler and investor Gary Weiss, is one of Sohn’s driving forces.

Read More
November 15th, 2024
 

Sohn Hearts & Minds Investments fund targets $1.5bn valuation

‍Hearts & Minds Investments chair Chris Cuffe is hoping for HM1 to grow to more than $1.5bn in the next five years.

Read More
November 14th, 2024
 

Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz believes bitcoin will hit $US100k

Bitcoin’s bounce to record highs in recent days is only the beginning of a fresh surge higher for cryptocurrency, says US billionaire Mike Novogratz.

Read More
November 9th, 2024
 

Why this New York hedge fund manager sees opportunity in European stocks

Influential New York-hedge fund manager Ricky Sandler will turn to Europe for his next stock pick.

Read More
November 6th, 2024
 

Antipodes’ Ross says short-term wealth hinges on US election

The portfolio manager says defensive stocks pose a bigger risk than the magnificent seven for investors that are overexposed to the American sharemarket.

Read More
November 5th, 2024
 

Concentration risk key for investors: Antipodes Partners’ Vihari Ross

The concentration risk in global stock indexes that has built up during the strong rise over the past year must now be a key consideration for global investors, according to Vihari Ross.

Read More
November 5th, 2024
 

The fundie betting big on China – with help from AI

Mr Mehta is sticking to his well-worn strategy: he’s hunting for companies across Asia that aren’t battling intense competition and have management teams focused on costs, cash generation and high payouts to shareholders.

Read More
November 5th, 2024