We know that prioritizing our sleep, diet, and mental health can add years to our lives. “We’ve had a significant increase in lifespan over the last century,” said National Institute of Aging deputy director Marie Bernard, MD, in a National Institute of Health (NIH) newsletter. “Now if you make it to age 65, the likelihood that you’ll make it to 85 is very high. And if you make it to 85, the likelihood that you’ll make it to 92 is very high.”
But in order to break into the supercentenarian club, a long health span is just as important as a long lifespan—just look at Morrie Markoff, who, at 110 years old, was crowned the oldest known living American man.
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Born in 1914, Markoff survived both World Wars, the Great Depression, a global pandemic, and lived through 19 presidencies. The supercentenarian, who went viral last year for having a belly dancer at his birthday, died earlier this month. And now, his daughter, Judith Hansen, is revealing her father’s fitness tips that helped him reach a birthday milestone many of us can only dream of.
Hansen's mother also lived to be 103. Now 83 years old herself, she credits her parents’ longevity to one simple exercise: walking.
Markoff and his wife, Betty, walked a three-mile loop around the reservoir near their home every day like clockwork, Hansen recalled in a Business Insider interview. The pair kept up with their daily walking schedule well into their nineties.
"Don't spend your life in bed unless you're sick," Markoff previously told Business Insider.
Even when walking became difficult, Markoff stayed committed to his exercise regimen and found ways to increase his step count indoors.
"My dad would walk around the dining-room table with the caregiver," recalled Hansen. "The joke was that we should put another leaf on the table to make it bigger because it was his race track.”
“He always said, 'I've got to get my exercise,’” she added.
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According to the American Heart Association (AHA), 150 minutes a week of brisk walking can reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. The simple exercise can also improve your blood pressure and blood sugar, boost energy levels and bone strength, and improve your mental well-being.
A 2023 report published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology found that taking 500 daily steps can decrease one’s risk of cardiovascular mortality by seven percent while walking 1,000 steps per day can result in a 15 percent reduction in all-cause mortality.
In addition to his daily walking habit, Markoff stayed away from processed foods and made a point to never stop learning. Near the end of his life, Markoff had a keen interest in photography, sculpting, and writing, shared Hansen.
Markoff may be gone, but his memory lives on. He posthumously set the record for donating the oldest healthy brain through the Brain Donor Project.
"He would have been so happy," Hansen said. "It's the most wonderful legacy."
