Eric Longley

January is the time of year a lot of people buy gym memberships. February is the time of year a lot of those memberships start gathering dust. Keeping that New Year’s resolution to be more fit and healthy can be difficult, but it’s not impossible. Tim Walsh is living proof. “You remember John Candy? I looked a lot like him,” says Walsh, referring to the rather rotund Canadian comedian who died of a heart attack at age 43.

Nicholas Yu says it’s the closest he can come to flying without an aircraft. “Especially when there are clouds around,” he says. “You do feel like a bird, that you can just soar and carve through the air. It’s a good feeling.” The Ottawa man is talking about wingsuiting – skydiving with a special suit that allows the wearer to glide and maneuver through the air in ways previously unimagined.

We all know that smoking, physical inactivity, and a poor diet are bad for our health. Just how bad is another matter. It’s hard to know what that cigarette, missed workout, or greasy burger is doing to us today when we probably won’t feel all that much different tomorrow. A new Canadian study is giving us a much better idea.