:biggrin:
It's definitely not necessary to "slave away" at health in youth to be active and healthy when old, but it can/does help.
Some people are also blessed with great genes and can live to 100, full of vigor, and never did anything healthy (and nearly everything unhealthy).
I'm just trying to take my stand now against the chance of a retirement home. I will demand a suicide pill if anyone even thinks of putting me into some kind of assisted living scenario (doesn't matter what age - could be tomorrow if I get seriously disabled, could be when old). But that simply stems from my take and outlook on life as an animal/human. I don't want to be a waste of space - my whole goal is to actually make up for what resources I've already sequestered, and will continue to... which is also in the form of deliciously unhealthy foodstuffs though I do make an effort to try and eat decently healthy, minus any vegetables - the taste of bark and plants is highly off-putting. While financially and physically able, I will refuse to ever "endure" any food. If I can't find a way to enjoy the flavor, I don't consume it. I have managed to work some things into the edible-enough category and can almost ignore the flavor qualities... but thus far, most roughage is highly off-putting. I have taken up the effort to at least try and get the important phyto-type chemicals included through supplements or mixed-source foods done well.
I'd even take a good-tasting "future nutritional food paste product", on occasion, if that helped to that end. :biggrin:
[I've also never thought of it, before now, as "making up for what I've consumed", but it's a good summary and serves the point well. It's more about making a contribution to the future generation(s) to help steer the ship in a better path than our current heading.]
/hijack