Doctor relates health to choice

Twin Cities Marathon
Runners set out at the start of the 2007 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon in Minneapolis.
Andy King/Associated Press

To Dr. David Katz, there's not much mystery behind the cause of major diseases that, as he puts it, "are taking years from life and life from years." It's our lifestyle.

"DNA is not destiny," he wrote last year in the Huffington Post. "To a much greater extent, choices under our control determine our fate. We have scientific evidence to show that if we change our own behavior, we change the behavior of our genes. We can nurture nature."

Katz is one of several leading doctors and health-care experts in Rochester, Minn., this week to speak at the Mayo Clinic's Transform 2014 Symposium. He'll speak with Tom Weber about what we know — and don't know — about nutrition, exercise and how to stay well.

Create a More Connected Minnesota

MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.