Every morning, Leroy Hood-who goes by Lee-wakes up around 5:30 a.m. He spends the first two hours of his day at his desk-writing, catching up with colleagues, strategizing his next big project. Then he begins his 40-minute workout routine: 200 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 deep-knee bends, followed by a series of stretches and balance exercises. He takes 25 supplements, like vitamins C and D, zinc, and magnesium, and skips breakfast as part of an intermittent-fasting routine. After that, he walks about a mile to his office in Seattle.
Hood, who is 84, is at the forefront of a movement to overhaul healthcare. Technically speaking, he is the co-founder of the Institute of Systems Biology (ISB), a biomedical research group, and the CEO of Phenome Health, a health-technology nonprofit. But what he really is, above all else, is a man with a mission. Hood spends his days on calls with scientists, senators, philanthropists, and tech giants, trying to transform healthcare systems across the globe by making them better at preventing diseases, rather than reacting to them. That way, we can all live a little longer.
When he returns from work, Hood pursues one of his many hobbies. He reads roughly a book a week, an eclectic mix of spy novels, Westerns, and of course, the latest nonfiction on how to live to be 100. He plays folk music on his recorder and takes long, meandering hikes. At 7 p.m. he eats dinner-usually a wholesome combination of leafy greens, whole grains, and fresh fruit with his partner, Becky, then goes to sleep around 10:30. Then the cycle repeats.
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