Weir’s job actually saved his life. While working on a story about the doctor who treated Steve Jobs, Weir had a full body CT scan. When the test was over, Weir said his doctor – Dr. David Agus -- told him, “Boy, I’m glad we caught this. You have heart disease and probably within the next five years you would have gone for a jog and dropped dead.”
“I was blown away,” Weir said.
Weir thought he was healthy, turns out, his routine was all wrong.
“I always went to the gym in morning, worked out hard for an hour and figured that covered me for the rest of the day. Turns out, that rigorous exercise early and then 10 hours of sitting is as dangerous as or more dangerous than smoking,” Weir continued.
The doctor told Bill to keep the workout, but to lose the sitting all day. Weir’s cell phone now beeps every hour to remind him to get up and walk around for five minutes. Weir is also trying to cut out the junk food and eat more salad and fruit.
“But I also ate everything I ever wanted, ya know, ribs cheese burgers, six pack of beer and I thought I’d just work it off at the gym the next day and that combination was clogging up my heart,” Weir said. Weir’s doctor didn’t specify any specific foods to stay away from, but he did say it’s about all things in moderation.
As for those full body scans, they’re controversial because of the radiation exposure and the chance of finding something that would never cause problems. But, Dr. Agus thinks in the right hands, they can change medicine. More about the doctor in his book called “The End of Illness” and more about Bill Weir on ABC News Nightline beginning tonight at 11:30 p.m.
