In one of his final interviews before his shocking and untimely death at the age of 67, Dr Michael Mosley told how his drive to maintain his own health stemmed from not wanting to die ‘early’ like his father, who lived to 74.
Speaking at the end of April about his motivation in comments which are now tragically poignant, the much-loved Mail columnist and TV doctor said his own father, Bill, ‘hadn’t seen his grandkids grow up’.
‘I thought, that’s not a road I want to go down,’ Dr Mosley told an interviewer.
The father-of-four – whose TV series have included examining tip from ‘superagers’ on how to stay young – has told how his father, a banker, developed diabetes in his 50s, just as he too went on to do.
‘My dad, when he retired, basically sat on the sofa and watched sport and that was incredibly bad for him,’ Dr Mosley told the Telegraph.
In one of his final interviews before his shocking and untimely death at the age of 67, Dr Michael Mosley told how his drive to maintain his own health stemmed from not wanting to die ‘early’ like his father
Dr Mosley (top right) pictured with his parents and brother in Hong Kong in 1962. His father, Bill, died at the age of 74 and never saw his grandchildren grow up Â
In one of his influential columns for the Daily Mail, the health guru detailed how his father’s later years were also ‘blighted’ by ‘invasive’ surgery to remove his prostate after a blood test found raised PSA levels.
‘In fact, he died of unrelated heart failure several years after the operation,’ Dr Mosley wrote in an article reproduced in yesterday’s Mail.
Determined to learn from losing his father, after being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2012, Dr Mosley changed his own diet – succeeding both in beating the disease and inspiring countless others to follow his example with his influential Blood Sugar Diet and 5:2 Diet.
Explaining how it spurred him into creating what may be his most lasting legacy, Dr Mosley told the interviewer: ‘When my GP told me I should start medication, it shouldn’t have been a shock, because my dad had developed diabetes around the same age.
‘And he then died. I shouldn’t have been shocked, but I was.’
‘I had seen what had happened to my father,’ he told the Telegraph.
‘He had died at 74, which is early these days.
Dr Mosley pictured with his wife Dr Clare Bailey Mosley who both had said they did not have ‘any intention of giving up work’
The father-of-four was found dead on the Greek island of Symi on Sunday morning having taken a wrong turn on to a mountain pathÂ
His body was discovered just 260 feet from a bar resort and safety at Agia Marina Â
The aerial map above shows the spot where Dr Mosley’s body which brought a tragic end to a five day search for the much-loved health guru
Greek police have confirmed that the body found yesterday is that of Dr Michael Mosley (pictured)
Dr Michael Mosley carried with him a small bottle of water as he made his tragic trek across the mountains in searing 37C heat. The map above reveals his final moments
Dr Mosley was captured on CCTV carrying an umbrella in the town of Pedi before he made a wrong turn onto a mountain pathÂ
‘That feels young. He hadn’t seen his grandkids grow up.
‘I thought, that’s not a road I want to go down.’
Also influenced by the premature loss of his father was Dr Mosley’s refusal to consider retirement, he added.
‘I’m 67 and a lot of my mates are now retired,’ he added.
Saying neither he nor his wife of nearly 40 years and frequent collaborator, Dr Clare Bailey Mosley, had ‘any intention of giving up work’, he added: ‘Why would you give up?
‘I am quite happy to go on writing and giving public speeches and making telly and podcasts.’
Dr Mosley added that having doctor friends – and one of his sons working as a doctor – helped keep him ‘in contact’ with the latest health research.
But every bit as important is the simple act of cultivating friendships – something men in particular find harder around retirement age, he said.
Young British volunteers, friends of the family walk the pathway towards Agua Marina near Pedi on Friday as they searched for Dr MosleyÂ
Friends and volunteers in Symi, Greece, where a search and rescue operation had been under way for Dr MosleyÂ
Dr Mosley with his wife Clare on their wedding day in 1987 nearly 40 years ago
‘Men are not so good at forming relationships, on the whole.
‘And when they hit retirement, suddenly realise they’ve got no friends.
‘There’s a lot of research showing the benefits of giving your time, getting together with friends, that sort of thing.’
As his family, colleagues and those whose lifestyles he has influenced for the better over the decades mourn Dr Mosley’s loss, they can take comfort from how his legacy of hope and positivity will live on.
