Work is his tonic

At 85, Dr Mahathir health still leads an active lifestyle

KASMIAH MUSTAPHA learns how to look and feel young from the longest-serving Prime Minister of Malaysia

EIGHTY FIVE and not looking his age one bit, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is the “poster boy” for healthy ageing.

Despite retiring as Prime Minister seven years ago, he is not slowing down; he continues to be involved in various activities. We wonder where he gets the stamina, as many younger than him suffer from some sort of debilitating condition. Even during his tenure of 22 years as PM, people were already amazed at his zest.

What is his secret? According to Dr Mahathir, there is no special secret to staying healthy and looking young.
“Many ask me what pills I take to keep healthy? I tell them there is no pill to keep one young. I take vitamins which help me stay healthy. Other than that, I did not and do not have any secret formula.” The most important thing is to enjoy what you are doing, he said. When you love your work, you do not feel the strain and stress. It will keep you alert, happy and smiling which in return makes you look young.

“When I was the PM, I loved my job. Of course, everyone would love to become the PM. I worked hard but it made me feel relaxed. That is why when I came back from journeys abroad, I could go return to the office immediately because I was anxious to get back to work. I enjoyed my work.

“If you don’t, you will become unhappy. Your face will become gloomy and you would be frowning. This will make you look older.” Another piece of advice is that people should continue working even after they retire. You need to keep your mind and body active, he says.
Dr Mahathir became PM at 56, the age when most retire.

However, since he loved his job, he believes it helped him feel young.

“I suggest to those who are in their golden years to find something that you are interested in. I have never stopped working and being interested in politics. I always think I can do better than other people, so I keep criticising them and that keeps my brain working. “I also write my blog. It is great fun, criticising people. Of course you will always feel you are better than everyone, it is natural for us to feel that way. And when you feel that way, you feel great and when you feel great, you look young,” he says with a laugh.
Dr Mahathir shared his secret to staying physically active and mentally sharp at the 5th Malaysian Conference on Healthy Ageing recently. He said to stay healthy as you grow older, people should eat in moderation and be more aware of the food they are taking.

Unhealthy lifestyles lead many younger people becoming obese as they indulged themselves in bad eating habits, he said.

“What you eat when you are young will have an effect when you are older. Let me share with you something. When I was a small boy, my mother would tell me, the moment you find you are enjoying your food, you should stop eating. “It was difficult. I had to train myself to stop, but eventually I managed it. Partly because it was during the Japanese occupation and there was not enough food, so I had to stop. But that helped discipline me as I grew older.

“Stop eating the moment you enjoy your food. It helps you to eat smaller portions and maintain your weight.” The best way to keep healthy as you age is not to smoke or drink, he says. These habits make you look older, and leads to diseases such as lung cancer and liver disease.

When he was in his teens, Dr Mahathir said he did try smoking. When the British came back after the end of World War II, they were selling cigarettes in the black market. Curious as to how it would taste, Dr Mahathir decided to buy a packet.

“I did not like it at all. The cigarette had such a horrible taste and I felt sick. I thought, why would I want to spend money on something that is so horrible and decided not to smoke. My friends told me that I was not mature and manly enough because I did not smoke. “But I was not bothered by their remarks. I believe by not smoking, it helped me age better than my friends. So my advice to those who are smoking is to please stop.” To avoid suffering from joints pain, Dr Mahathir says he was never involved in rough sports such as squash or tennis.
He believes that when you are involved in strenuous sports when you are younger, it will lead to problems as you get older.

“I did play rugby when I was younger but I stopped before I got hurt. As a result, now I do not feel pain in my joints. I can still walk around without a walking stick. But if you love this type of sports, please ignore my advice,” says Dr Mahathir.

“Start taking care of your health when you are younger because you do not want to be unhappy and deal with illnesses in your old age. You want to enjoy those years,” he adds.


Read more: Health: Work is his tonic http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/Workishistonic/Article#ixzz0qe8cqWcX