BELOVED actor Dick Van Dyke has issued a concerning health update as he shares his secrets to a long and happy life ahead of his 100th birthday.
The award-winning star revealed on Sunday that he feels “diminished” and is becoming increasingly housebound as a result of his frailty.
The father-of-four is set to celebrate his 100th birthday on December 13.
Ahead of the celebrations, he penned an essay for The Times, issuing an update on his health and opening up about the secrets to a long and happy life.
Reflecting on some of his most iconic roles as aged men, the TV icon accepted, “I’m not playing a super-old any more. I am a super-old”.
“I am now a stooper, a shuffler and a teeterer. I have feet problems and I go supine as often as is politely possible,” he wrote.
“I have trouble following group conversations and complain frequently about my hearing aids.
“At mealtime I spill stuff, and when my wife, Arlene, asks me to put on an unstained shirt before we go out, I get impatient.”
The TV icon revealed that he is becoming increasingly housebound as a result of “physical decay”.
“It’s frustrating to feel diminished in the world, physically and socially,” he said.
“I get invites to events or offers for gigs in New York or Chicago, but that kind of travel takes so much out of me that I have to say no.
“Almost all of my visiting with folks has to happen at my house.”
Despite his physical ailments, the Mary Poppins star is relentlessly positive about life, praising his wife for keeping him young as well as seeing the world and his experiences of it like a “giant playground”.
“Boiled down, the things that have kept my life joyful and fulfilling are pretty simple: romance, doing what I love and a whole lot of laughing,” he wrote.
As well as still going to the gym three times a week, being part of a singing group, and always dancing, Dick has a number of rules to staying young at heart while making it to 100.
Trying not to let negativity take over is one of the key tenants of his life.
While he admitted that he can “spiral into anguish over the mayhem and cruelty” of the world, and turn into a stereotypical grumpy old man, “that’s not the essence of me,” he says.
Instead, he recommends embracing all life throws at you – the good, the bad, and the ugly – without giving into it.
Dance, sing, and be able to laugh at yourself, he said, if you can’t do the latter, “you’ve got big problems”.
Two other rules he lives by are to always be playful and to refuse to live in the past.
Even on rare outings, the actor makes sure his playful side is on full display.
Last year he even joked that he “hopes he makes it to 99th birthday” as he was seen running errands in Malibu.
Now, as he prepares to reach a century, he is showing no signs of slowing down with his new book ‘100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist’s Guide to a Happy Life’ being released on November 18.