The Healthiest Man In The World

John Harwood in for Tom Ashbrook

Writer A.J. Jacobs achieved enlightenment in "The Year of Living Biblically." Now, he’s trying to get buff. He joins us.

The 27,000 people running the Boston Marathon today have all sorts of reasons. But just about all of them see running as a way to get healthier. That’s the challenge that Esquire writer A.J. Jacobs took on – in far more exotic fashion – is his new book “Drop Dead Healthy: One Man’s Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection.”

He played caveman in Central Park, slathered on tubes of sunscreen, hung out at a gym for the first time, went to a laughter club, and practiced portion control by serving his dinner on the plates his toddlers use.

Up next On Point: how much can a man remake his body for the long haul?
-John Harwood

A.J. Jacobs, editor-at-large at Esquire magazine, and best-selling author. His new book is "Drop Dead Healthy: One Man's Humble Quest for Body Perfection." You can read an excerpt here.

USA Today "Jacobs has since shed his 'Ted Kaczynski-like facial hair.' But even after all his workouts, research and consultations with experts, Jacobs acknowledges his physique won't get him on Jersey Shore, 'which I'm OKwith. But I'm a lot healthier.'"

New York Post "When I turned 40 three years ago, one thing was clear. I was fat — what they call 'skinny fat,' with a body that resembled a python after swallowing a goat. I was 5-foot-11 and weighed 172 pounds — most of them congregating in my middle."

“Healthy Body” by Operation Ivy
“Healthy & Wise” by GG Hill