My wife's edge

Do hobbies help you live longer?  It seems to be a received wisdom that retired folk live longer, happier, healthier lives if they actively pursue a hobby.  A hobby that involves social contact, social interaction, and communication with other retirees.  A hobby that is not only creative but also active, involving the 'doing' of something.  Passive pursuits such as reading or listening to music are in of themselves inferior and ill suited for the purpose.  I wish I knew where the received wisdom originated and on what evidential basis such a dramatic conclusion was drawn.  I presume something epidemiological was the starting point and surely it is more of a hypothesis than an established scientific fact.  Worrying all the same.  I have a stubborn anti-social streak when it comes to my leisure activities, largely based on the huge number of social interactions I have during my working day.  I frankly cannot be bothered being sociable when I'm not at work, except on rare occasions when having dinner with friends.  I wonder if that will change come retirement?  Certainly my wife has the edge there in terms of active hobbies that may possibly prolong her life span, not even taking into account her gender.  I think that I need to join a reading circle.  A reading circle that is vigorous in its social interactivity.  A reading circle as much energetic as intellectual.  A reading circle perhaps that combines erudition, discourse and calisthenics - with a yoga class offshoot for readers of short stories.