Dr. David Katz is one of the most influential voices in preventive medicine, nutrition, and lifestyle medicine. As the founding director of the Yale Prevention Research Center, a past president of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, and a prolific author, Dr. Katz has spent his career challenging conventional wisdom on aging and health.
On a recent episode of Varsity’s podcast, Roundtable Talk, he shared his thoughts on the pitfalls of “anti-aging,” the power of lifestyle choices, and how we can reshape our relationship with aging and vitality. Here are some of the key takeaways from our conversation.
OUR SOCIETY PROMOTES ‘ANTI-AGING’—WHY DO YOU THINK THIS IS MISGUIDED?
Aging is a biological process. It’s like being anti-breathing—it just doesn’t make sense. Everything ages: rocks, the Earth, the universe. What bothers me most about the “anti-aging” movement is that it invites us to perpetually compare ourselves to a younger version of ourselves.
I’m 62. I practice what I preach—I eat optimally, I work out every day, and I’m extremely fit. But I don’t have the same muscle mass or strength I did at 42 or 22. That’s just reality. The goal shouldn’t be to fight aging, but to optimize vitality at every stage of life.
HOW DOES THE PACE OF CHANGE IN OUR SOCIETY IMPACT HOW WE VIEW OLDER ADULTS?
The world you grew up in gets left behind, and that happens faster now than ever before. My parents, who are 85, are vital and active, but they feel like roadkill on the information superhighway.
When they were kids, there were no televisions. Now, we have devices in our pockets that let us instantly connect with anyone in the world. The speed of technological advancement makes older generations feel obsolete. We’ve gone from a time when older people were venerated for their wisdom to a culture that increasingly views them as out of touch.
WHAT CAN WE DO TO REFRAME AGING AS A POSITIVE EXPERIENCE?
We need to celebrate what aging gives us, not just what it takes away. Yes, physical capabilities change, but you gain something just as valuable—wisdom, experience, perspective.
In many cultures, elders are venerated. But in America, we glorify youth while failing to honor the trade-off. Imagine if we had a magazine dedicated to the reflections and stories of older adults, just like People Magazine does for celebrities. We celebrate youthful beauty, but we don’t celebrate the beauty of experience and wisdom in the same way.
WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO AS YOU AGE?
I was looking forward to peace—to being able to fully enjoy the bond I have with my wife, to spending more time outdoors, with my dogs and my horses. But life doesn’t always work out as planned.
I unexpectedly became an entrepreneur, founding Diet ID, which was recently acquired. Now, I’m still deeply involved in making diet quality a vital sign, like blood pressure.
That said, I do look forward to a time when I can truly unplug—to go “off the grid” for a weekend (or longer), to not be shackled to my phone, to fully be with the people I love. That’s what I aspire to.
