[AndrewThrowaway]

If you look at dog breeds the difference between longest living (~15 years) and shortest (~10 years) is ~5years or 50% of the lifetime.

However we still struggle to appoint the very same to humans. In popular sciences and general understanding we still give so much attention to food and exercise and lifestyle and etc.

As if somehow changing the diet and exercise plan of Chihuahua you could make it into Doberman.

Of course, you play with the cards you get. Diet and exercise help. However you should still be aware about the game you play.

[sebtron]

But dog breeds are much more diverse than humans. For example, a chihuahua weights about 2kg, a St. Bernard about 70kg. That's a 35x size difference.

[vjk800]

Western individualistic thinking struggles with the concept of biological limits. Our genes influence nearly everything we do or are, and there's nothing we can do about it.

Years ago, I read the book "The Sports Gene" by David Epstein. I was particularly struck by how sled racing dogs are now bred for motivation to train, rather than just their physical running ability. That is, breeders select for genes that make it so fun for the dogs to run that they keep going, while the dogs not bred this way just give up when they feel a little tired.

The story made me really think to what extent is my motivation to exercise, or do anything for that matter, affected by my genes? And if this sort of stuff is genetic, is there any more point to punishing myself for laziness than to feeling bad for being too short?