darrelj@sdcrdcf.UUCP (08/01/84)
While Jim Fixx did die rather young, he did almost 20 years better than his
father, and from whom he expected to have inherited the same cardiac faults.
(His father was totally disabled by a heart attack at about 35 and "lived"
another 10 years)
--
Darrel J. Van Buer, PhD
System Development Corp.
2500 Colorado Ave
Santa Monica, CA 90406
(213)820-4111 x5449
...{allegra,burdvax,cbosgd,hplabs,ihnp4,sdccsu3,trw-unix}!sdcrdcf!darrelj
VANBUER@USC-ECL.ARPAwarrenf@tekig.UUCP (Warren Finke) (08/01/84)
--------------------------------------------------------------------- > Remember Jim Fixx, the prophet of jogging? He wrote two definitive > books on running and was instrumental in the birth of the running > craze. The thesis, of course, is that running is good for you, and > many disciples go on to claim that regular running will keep you > healthy and help you to live longer. > Jim Fixx recently died of a heart attack while jogging. He was 52 > years old. > So it goes ... > -- Andrew Klossner --------------------------------------------------------------------- Obviously, ignorance is bliss. This author fails to mention that: Writing books on fitness does not make one fit. Because someone "jogs" he is not necessarily fit, a state which requires attention to all phases of life style. Jim Fixx did not take up running until he was middle aged, having been a 2 pack a day smoker. Research has shown that arterial blockage is well advanced on people in their mid 20s. Heart disease ran in his family. His father had his first heart attack at 35 and died at 43. Fixx had experienced severe symptoms before his attack and had chosen to ignore them. He had even been offered a free stress test and refused it. Given Fixx's risk factors, one could probably make a case for saying he lived about 10 years longer than he should have. He might still be around if he had heeded his symptoms. In any case, success in life isn't measured by how long you live but by what you do and the enjoyment you give yourself and others. If Jim Fixx has saved even a few people from their dull inactive middle age and early death, he's lived a better life than most of us. - Warren Finke @ Tektronix Beaverton OR.
kinne@asgb.UUCP (08/03/84)
Jim Fixx was cited as instrumental in the birth of the running movement. *Wrong!* Fixx got into the running movement as a guru rather late, although he has been a runner for some years. If you want the people who had more to do with inspiring real runners try Bill Dellinger, Arthur Lydiard, Ken Cooper, and Frank Shorter. The author seems to imply that because Fixx died at 52, running must be bad for the heart. The autopsy showed Fixx had severe coronary disease that probably predated his running. In addition, he had recently refused to acknowledge and deal with warning symptoms. The author also implies running is dangerous. Many, many people in Jim Fixx' age group have heart attacks while eating, sleeping, watching television, etc. Do you want to cease all those activities? The real problem is the coronary disease, and there is no evidence that any form of aerobic exercise worsens coronary disease. So enjoy your running, check out any symptoms, and believe that Jim Fixx was probably healthier and happier as a runner than as an overweight smoker. Bob Kinne
howard@metheus.UUCP (Howard A. Landman) (08/05/84)
What you (and many of the media accounts) failed to mention was that Jim Fixx wasn't ALWAYS a running guru. He used to be an overweight author with a genius-level IQ, and rabid MENSA member. For example, he wrote "Games for the Super-Intelligent". In early middle age he took up running, lost many pounds, wrote a best-selling running book, and became a minor celebrity. That he died at 52 in no way implies that someone who has taken care of themselves since youth with respect to diet and exercise is likely to suffer the same fate. Some damage is pretty much irreversible. Howard A. Landman ogcvax!metheus!howard (till August 14th) "You gave all you had, why you want to give more? The more that you give, the more it will take to the thin line beyond which you really can't fake."
rjb@akgua.UUCP (R.J. Brown [Bob]) (08/06/84)
The rest of the story as Paul Harvey would say...
Mr Fixx apparently had a family history of coronary disease,
he took up jogging at 37 weighing about 250 lbs with a two
pack a day cigarette habit, and died while jogging at age 52.
My personal speculation that the approximate 15 year life span
after taking up jogging was considerably longer than he would
have had if he had continued his dissolute life style.
We all gotta die sometime and I think he went for a certain
type of quality of life.
Bob Brown {...ihnp4!akgua!rjb}
AT&T Technologies, Inc.............. Norcross, Ga
(404) 447-3784 ... Cornet 583-3784abc@brl-tgr.ARPA (Brint Cooper ) (08/11/84)
And his father died of the same disease at age 43. So what do you THINK you have proved?