If you’re looking to live until 100, there are three key things that will help you hit that amazing milestone – and it’s never too late to start.
As healthcare improves around the world, centenarians are the fastest growing demographic group, and many are keen to join them.
In a new study, researchers from China found that older adults who maintained healthier lifestyles in specific ways had significantly better odds of joining the 100 club.
The researchers, from Fudan University in Shanghai, studied 1,454 people who were least 100 years old, and matched them to control participants with a similar background who did not reach 100, but were aged over 80.
They created a healthy lifestyle score, ranging from zero to six based on their self-reported smoking, drinking and exercise habits, as well as the variety of their diet and their body mass index (BMI).
The results revealed that those who scored highly in three particular ways were most likely to reach 100 – never smoking, currently exercising, and a highly diverse diet, including eating a wide range of fruits, vegetables, beans and fish.
Those with the highest lifestyle scores, with five or six points, had 61% higher odds of becoming centenarians compared to those with the lowest scores (0-2 points).
The researchers found that never smoking increased the odds of reaching 100 by 25% compared to those who currently smoke. Those who currently regularly exercise boosted odds by 31% compared to never exercising, and a highly diverse diet improved odds by 23% compared to the least diverse diets, both of which can be adopted in later life.
Surprisingly, the researchers found that education, marital status and alcohol consumption in later life made no difference to lifespan, and those who live in the city have just as much chance of hitting 100 as those who reside in the countryside.
However, the results, published their results in the journal Jama Network Open, do have two major limitations. The results were self-reported, which can lead to errors, and the study was observational, meaning it can only show an association, not direct cause and effect.
Who is the UK’s oldest person?
- The oldest person living in the UK is Ethel Caterham, who was born on 21 August 1909.
- She is currently 114 years and 305 days old.
- Ethel comes under the few people who are known as ‘supercentenarians’, who reach or surpass 110 years of age and said her secret was taking ‘everything in [her] stride, the highs and lows.’
- The oldest known British person was Charlotte Hughes, who died in 1993 at the age of 115 years and 228 days.
The researchers wrote: ‘By targeting the older age group (≥80 years), this observed association between a higher HLS and a higher likelihood of becoming a centenarian extended our understanding that people with healthy lifestyle behaviors, even at a very advanced age, could still have better health outcomes compared with their counterparts.’
The researchers said that for individuals, making small, sustainable lifestyle changes, even later in life, may boost their chances of making it to 100.
They also suggest that public health initiatives which target lifestyle improvements in older adults could have significant impacts on population health and longevity.
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