Health Beyond the Blog: Dr. Peter Attia and “Outlive”

Dr. Peter Attia’s book Outlive teaches us to live better for longer

by Nolan Shah

A post-pandemic wellness era marked by biohacking and health optimization has more than 70 percent of US adults questioning our traditional healthcare system. Instead, people are seeking actionable advice that can help reduce the risk of chronic disease. Recognizing this market, companies are marketing the benefits of sleep wearables, mental health apps, and AI-enabled personalized nutrition.

Innovation, however, comes at a cost. Products meant to empower consumers with their own health have instead contributed to mental and physical struggles surrounding crafting the perfect optimized lifestyle. Focusing on health has become a cultural phenomena, with the global wellness market set to reach $7 trillion by 2025, yet traditional healthcare does not reflect these patient desires.

Against this trend, Dr. Peter Attia offers his New York Times No. 1 best-seller Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity to introduce ideas of longevity and healthspan into public and academic discourse. Attia argues that healthcare as we know it is set up to fail, by treating people only when they are ill and neglecting to educate patients on how they can be the best versions of themselves. His book breaks down the latest revelations in the science of sleep, nutrition, exercise, and emotional health in a way that is digestible to even those that have never once taken a science class.

Attia addresses a glaring issue in modern healthcare: over 80% of health care is dedicated to managing, not healing, chronic disease. What he names as a health version of The Four Horsemen — in thie case, cancer, metabolic disease, cardiovascular disease, and Alzheimer’s — are all culpable in reducing US life expectancy.

The book outlines tools that, when integrated into traditional health care, would be classified as preventative medicine. The significance of a highly respected and well-trained clinician pointing out the hypocrisy of a healthcare system reliant on patients to get sick cannot be overstated. On the surface, Outlive’s longevity principles may seem reductionist to the many factors that affects an individual’s health. But in reality, Attia is at the forefront of a cultural shift towards human flourishing.

A must read for anyone wanting to have the energy and capabilities to play with their grandchildren, Outlive flips mainstream medicine on its head by reminding us what is most important: being able to experience life and all its wonderful moments with vitality.

Outlive is available at Attia’s own site, at Amazon, and at mutiple other booksellers.