Thanks for the comment Michelle. Sorry for the delay in replying. Most comments I receive are spam so it was refreshing to have received something worthwhile. I’m totally with her on the significant detrimental impacts of social isolation and loneliness has on our health and wellbeing. I think my criticisms were more to try and raise awareness that more recent research would suggest that exercise and physical activity are more important for facilitating good health and fitness than was presented by Susan Pinker. That being said, even if you are diligent in ‘taking your exercise’, the powerful effects of experiencing social isolation and loneliness will obviously have significantly negative impacts (worse than smoking). I suppose it is about ensuring that all the inputs that are known to optimise health are promoted/advocated, and that we connect more with the people we care about, and if there aren’t those avenues for some people, that community services and other private/government bodies help provide an opportunity for social connection and interaction to take place (whatever that may look like).

The former US Surgeon General also brought out Holt-Lunstad’s research and urged us all to be intentional about connection in his “Parting Prescription.”

We shouldn’t stop exercising! But we should connect more. Prioritize it. Get off our devices and into our lives.

Thanks again for the important analysis.

Thanks Fergal. Was actually quite surprised once I started looking more closely at what was presented. Knowing the challenges that confront us in terms of increasing people’s engagement and participation in exercise and physical activity, I was not overly impressed, particularly when based on outdated evidence. I suspect, however, that this was an inadvertent mistake, in that the presenter was just not aware that our understanding of, and insights into the relationship between exercise and mortality have substantially moved forward.

Keep up the good work