Reader question
“I walk most days and do a bit of gardening, but I don’t go to the gym. I regularly weigh myself and I’m staying thin but how do I know if I’m actually healthy and fit enough to age well?” – Maia.
Professor Grant Schofield’s response
Society often promotes body size as the only defining metric of health but what if I told you it’s actually the wrong metric for most of us. Maia, you’re asking the right question. You’re just measuring the wrong thing.
The real question to ask ourselves is whether our body is strong enough to carry us into old age with our independence intact or simply, are you fit enough to age well?
Because that is what fitness really is. It is not vanity. It is your reserve. This will have a much greater impact on your health, overall quality of life and it will help you reach the right weight.
Because in New Zealand we are living longer, but not better. Life expectancy sits at about 80 for men and 83 for women. Healthy life expectancy is closer to 70. That decade, or more, is not inevitable. Every path in life is hard. You just choose the order of the hard stuff.
Movement used to be built into life. Now we have engineered effort out of almost everything. The chair is the most successful piece of furniture in human history, and the most harmful. Getting out the door on a cold, wet Tuesday is hard. Losing the ability to get off the couch without using your hands is harder. We all choose our hard.
NZ guidelines recommend at least 2.5 hours of moderate activity a week, plus muscle strengthening twice weekly. That is the floor. Not the goal. It is the line above which you start. Less than half of Kiwi adults hit even that, and around 12 percent do essentially nothing.
The science is stark. In a study of 122,007 adults, those with the lowest fitness levels were five times more likely to die early than the fittest group. There was no upper limit to the benefit and the fitter you were, the better your odds.
To put that in perspective: smoking raises your risk of early death by about 1.8 times. Being unfit is nearly three times more dangerous than lighting up.
In plain English, your engine matters. We spend a lot of energy arguing about the seed oils and saturated fat while our fitness quietly falls off a cliff.
Cardio is only half the story. The other half is strength. Muscle lets you carry groceries, climb stairs, catch yourself when you trip, get off the floor, absorb glucose, and pick up your grandchildren.
Think of strength as a bank account. In your 30s, 40s and 50s, you are making deposits. In your 70s and 80s, you are making withdrawals. If the balance is low, a fall, surgery, or flu can be debilitating or even fatal.
So how do you know where you stand? Try a fitness test and a strength test.
The 12 minute test. Walk, jog, or run as far as you can in 12 minutes. This is the Cooper test, a practical field test of aerobic fitness.
The grip test. A dead hang (hang both hands from a bar) if your shoulders tolerate it, or a simple grip strength measure. Grip strength is a good test of overall strength, and strongly associated with future health.
Look up the good ranges online by age and sex, then see where you land. You can compare yourself to anyone of any age because of the age adjusted comparisons.
The answer is not complicated. At least walk most days. Lift heavy things twice a week. Add harder effort once or twice a week. Train your balance. Find your people, whether that is a trail, a barbell, a dance floor, a bike ride, or a swimming lane.
Fitness is best when it stops being a project and becomes an identity. Do not try to exercise. Become the sort of person who moves.
I keep training because I have seen what happens when people stop. The goal is not a personal best next year. The goal is 85, and still going strong.
This article was originally published by Stuff on 22 July 2026, as part of Grant’s HealthStuff column.
Disclaimer: This column is intended as general health information only and does not constitute medical advice. Please consult your own GP or healthcare provider for advice specific to your condition.
