Our bodies are incredibly complex machines that require fuel components (food, water, and air) to grow, function, and repair itself. Like any machine, the body requires routine maintenance to make it last a long time and to function well throughout a person's life expectancy. Using the body as it was intended and minimizing abuse also increases its ability to perform. When we buy a car, we expect to routinely change the oil, filters, rotate the tires, and avoid driving too aggressively to keep the car running smoothly and last a certain length of time. As in life, accidents happen and cosmetic injuries occur, but it is the "guts" of a car, the engine, transmission, and brakes that will decide if it will be happily driving down the road or sitting in the junkyard.

Our bodies suffer through illnesses and accidents and many are unavoidable. Taking care of your body also includes scheduled maintenance and screening examinations to detect illnesses at an early stage, which increases the potential for cure and a return to health. Learning to listen to the body's warning signs and symptoms is the same as paying attention to the check engine light in your car, neither should be ignored.

A healthy lifestyle is not just an absence of disease, but an opportunity to enjoy the years of life available to each person. Medical care can help the body maintain its performance as it ages. A longer life expectancy should not be considered a jail sentence to inactivity. As the body ages, there is an expected and normal physiologic change in some of the hormones in the male body.