By Howard Sachs, MD, PhD
At 82 yrs of age, living in a retirement community, where the age ranges from 68 to 98, I speak from experience. Seven days a week, we are served dinner in a dining room, from a choiceful menu. The menu usually contains a choice of soup, salad, choice of entre of either fish, poultry, beef, or pork, served with potatoes and vegetables, and often fresh baked bread. This is always followed by deserts of pies and assorted ice creams.
Obviously, these are sumptuous dinners, served in unlimited quantity. Of interest is my observation that these meals are eaten in almost unlimited quantities. Eating here is a serious matter. By 9:00 AM, upon return from my daily walk, people are already asking, “ What’s on the menu for tonight?”
At dinner at my table and most others, few words are spoken. The highlight of the meal is the deserts, of cakes or pies, with ice cream. The results are as expected, obesity is rampant. My first month here I indulged with my companions and gained 20 pounds. At that rate, in 4 years, I’d weigh a ton, requiring a crane to get me out of bed each morning. However, I stopped in time, gave up desert, maintained a daily exercise program and lost the added pounds. In the absence of a sexual partner; there are still a variety of activities I’d rather engage in than eating.
