DUNCAN Looking far healthier than the average 82-year-old, Dr. Kenneth Cooper brought some simple advice to Duncan on Tuesday to prolong everyones life -- keep moving.

Cooper, who coined the word aerobics when he wrote his first book in 1968, presented a rapid-fire Powerpoint presentation of statistics and studies that support a theory now embraced by all health professionals -- exercise and diet will prolong your life, improve your brain function and markedly decrease your chances of dying from cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

It wasnt a notion embraced by everyone when he was an unknown in the field of preventive medicine, but it quickly took hold as research and studies supported the theory.

Cooper intended use Aerobics as the title of only one chapter in his first book but his editor in New York suggested he make that the title of the entire book, he told a crowd that gathered at the Simmons Center Theater to hear his hour-long presentation.

The book became a best-seller and Cooper is now invited to China, Hungary and others points around the globe to speak on diet and excercise.

A native Oklahoman who was a champion miler at Putnam High School, he operates the Cooper Institute, a nonprofit organization in Dallas dedicated to health research and education, along with an array of other health-related enterprises that operate under the Cooper brand.

During his remarks in Duncan, he said he has almost given up working with adults in his crusade against obesity and its associated ills.

People dont want to take responsibility for their own health, he said.

Childhood obesity, however, has become a prime focus.

Cooper believes schools can play an important role. He gives Texas high marks because the state requires public schools to determine its students level of fitness and provide physical education.

Read more from the original source:
Aerobics guru: get off the couch to live longer and healthier life