How to Break Bad Habits When You're Young

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In college I had a friend whose father was a physician and his advice to his son was you know what kid go out have a great time party smoke drink do whatever you want then when you turn 40 clean up your act become a health nut because most of these conditions are reversible. Peter explains why the best way to get healthy now is to think about what you'd like to be able to do when you're old and work backwards.

Peter Attia had a problem. It was 2006. He'd recently graduated from Stanford's medical school and was completing a prestigious surgical residency at Johns Hopkins, but instead of celebrating his success, he was tormented by frustrations.

The medical establishment, it seemed to him, was stubbornly resistant to change and innovation; doctors could easily diagnose the maladies that kill most of us — heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's, and type 2 diabetes — but they struggled to help their patients avoid those diagnoses in the first place. Peter believed there had to be another approach. He was convinced it was possible to practice a cutting-edge form of medicine that didn't just manage diseases but tried to prevent them. So he embarked on a journey to figure out how to do it.

Now, nearly two decades later, he's compiled everything he learned on that journey in a book, the #1 New York Times bestseller "Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity." It's a comprehensive guide to exercise, nutrition, sleep, and mental health that'll help you live better for longer.

Peter Attia is the founder of Early Medicine and host of "The Drive."

(This is part one of a two-part episode. Check back next Thursday for the second installment.)

P.S. We're hosting a live event in New York City on June 28th! Rufus will take the stage with Steven Johnson, David Chalmers, and John Borthwick to discuss the rise of generative AI and the mainstreaming of augmented reality. Learn more at betaworks.com/event/ai-consciousness