Secrets of longevity: Rod Perez is a 'wake-up call' to older Australians

Watching his mother's health deteriorate over the years and eventually succumb to cancer was a catalyst for Rodrigo Perez to change the world, one body at a time.

The exercise physiologist from the Gold Coast may live and breathe health, fitness and mindfulness and said many Australians need a "wake-up call" - especially anyone in retirement - if they want to make the most of their golden years.

"A lot of people get depressed with retirement ... they stop work, they stop thinking, their brain shrinks and their body droops," Perez bluntly told The Senior.

But he wants to be blunt to help push people towards change to enable them to live the best years of their lives.

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Simple changes - like walking every day, trying to sleep well and drinking lots of water - are his three key focus points for health. A good diet is the fourth.

In his new book, The Art of Longevity, Perez writes about a long-term client who initially reached out for help at the age of 59.

He was a white-collar worker enduring long hours, drinking and smoking, and also recovering from back surgery which resulted in nerve damage.

"He couldn't walk properly ... he couldn't even stand up off the floor," Perez recalled.

"It's hard to change habits, that's what I see in the majority of people. But with persistence and consistency of what you are doing, the long-term will change."

That man is now well into his 60s and 12 kilograms lighter. His "gut issues" have disappeared, he has full use of his legs again, and can now get up off the floor with ease.

Perez's drive to help others came from his mother, "a warrior", who fled Spain during World War II and set up a new life with her family in Brazil.

Over time he could see her stressful lifestyle, of striving to give her family everything and start a business from scratch, was having an impact on her health. The stress, he said, inflated her blood pressure to dangerous levels over a prolonged period.

He blames her cancer diagnosis on stress, high blood pressure and subsequent medication, even though he tried to bring her body to a calmer state.

In 2011 Perez's mother came to visit him in Australia for six weeks. Being with her son meant she moved more, slept more and ate better food. She didn't want her medication anymore and dropped five kilos.

It made Perez happy, but sadly cancer took over her lungs and it was too late.

Since then, he has researched the best way to move, eat, breathe, think and recover for a long and happy life.

Even if picking up a book is the least someone can do, it is a start, he said.

"People don't have to be scared," Perez said. "It's not for athletes it's for everyone, with simple words for everyone to understand."

Perez is also open to "listen to anyone" and invited questions via his social media platforms on Instagram and YouTube.

The Art of Longevity: Your Practical Guide To Total Mind and Body Wellness is in bookstores now through Penguin Publishing. RRP $36.99