At 102, Deborah Szekely still works three days a week at the health resort she cofounded over 80 years ago.
Szekely opened Rancho La Puerta in Baja California, Mexico, with her late husband in June 1940. She doesn’t see her age as a reason to change, she told Women’s World in May.
“When nature says, ‘You got to stop Deborah,’ Deborah will stop. Until then, she’ll keep going,” she told CNBC Make It on June 28.
While how long a person lives depends partly on luck and genetics, certain lifestyle choices can extend our healthspan — or how long into our lives we’re healthy and active.
Given that more people are living to 100 than ever before — the number of Americans aged 100 and over is projected to more than quadruple in the next 30 years, according to Pew Research Center — it’s easy to see why longevity is a buzzy topic.
Szekely, who has structured her lifestyle to stay healthy, shared four tips on how others can do the same.
Do ‘good old-fashioned’ exercise
Szekely believes that “good old-fashioned” exercise is a key part of staying healthy, Barrons reported in April.
“The specific type of exercise doesn’t matter; what matters is that you’re pushing yourself enough to feel it, getting your heart rate up, and breaking a sweat. If you get really huffy puffy, you’re doing a good job,” Szekely said.
One 2019 study published in The BMJ found that people who were sedentary for 9.5 hours a day were about twice as likely to die early than those who did the most exercise, but any physical activity, regardless of intensity, was linked with a lower risk of dying from any cause.
Szekely walks at least a mile each day, which she likes to do in local parks, she told Women’s World.
Eat healthily
Szekely is against fad diets and believes that food is a “way of life,” she told Barrons. Dietitian Elena Paravantes previously told Business Insider that making gradual changes to your diet is the best way to start eating healthily.
Szekely has been a pescatarian since childhood and tries to eat “as fresh as possible,” growing much of her own food on the ranch’s farm.
Her daily breakfast consists of bananas and yogurt, according to Women’s World, but she doesn’t shy away from the occasional treat — her favorite is coffee ice cream.
BI previously reported on a 2020 study that found eating mostly plant-based whole foods is linked to lower blood pressure and a lower risk of heart disease.
Stay positive and have no regrets
“The world has tons of problems, and you can’t do anything about them,” Szekely told Women’s World. “When you worry, you add to the problems. By not worrying, you subtract from the problems.”
She also doesn’t believe in looking back, she told CNBC. “That’s a total waste of time. You can’t do anything about it, it’s done,” she said.
Instead, she tries to reframe everything in a positive light and always look ahead, moving on from things she can’t fix, she told Barrons.
Research suggests that a positive mindset and a tendency to look for silver linings are common traits of centenarians.
Get involved in the community
“Community survival is absolutely vital to longevity. The health and happiness of our neighbors are not only important; they are a requirement. Without the health of the things surrounding you, it’s hard to be healthy,” Szekly told Barrons.
A 2021 meta-analysis of studies published in Frontiers in Psychology found a link between having a support network and living longer. A 2024 study by researchers at Purdue University, Indiana, meanwhile, found links between positive relationships and longevity, and the ability to continue doing daily tasks such as walking, climbing stairs, or carrying groceries.
