One idea put forward by a Prof. Barker is your future health, thus longetivity too, starts off in the womb......

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-14576961

There haven't been many posts recently to this thread, but the greatest challenge to longevity seems to be lack of exercise and obesity. This seems to be particularly affecting the young, so we may be storing up trouble ahead

 Children need more exercise (BBC Site)

My own observation is that children do not seem to venture outdoors very much on their own these days (maybe because of the fears of over-protective parents), or possibly the attraction of indoor activities like computer games.

In my own younger days, a long time ago, children would be out from dawn to dusk on their own in summer and rarely did any harm befall them. The youngsters of today seem to be cocooned and kept from enjoying the traditional leisure activities of rambling, cycling, swimming, blackberrying, fishing etc. On those rare occasions they do get involved in such things, there is usually an anxious parent hovering nearby.

It seems we have become fearful of allowing our children to do anything on their own. It is probably not helped by the encroachment of the Health & Safety mentality, which has resulted in all the exciting (but potentially dangerous) playground apparatus being removed from children's play areas.     

What a true statement that is Edward.

Blackberrying no less and when we got home with a 'mushroom punnet' full of Blackberries it was a question of Blackberry and Apple pie, or Blackberry Jam, or Wine...

Those were the days!