Why you shouldn't listen to health advice from centenarians
'26.08.2024'
ForumDaily New York
Scientists are still trying to understand why some people live over 100 years. But they all agree that it is better not to take advice from the centenarians themselves, reports Guardian.
The death of 117-year-old Maria Brañas Morera, the world's oldest person, has many wondering about the secrets of an exceptionally long life.
Branyas believed that her longevity was due to order, calm, good connection with family and friends, as well as contact with nature, emotional stability, lack of worries and regrets, greater positivity, and avoidance of toxic people.
However, Richard Faragher, professor of biogerontology at the University of Brighton, said scientists are still trying to figure out why some people Live in more 100 years.
Why do some people live longer?
Faragher believes there are two main theories. They are not mutually exclusive.
The first, he says, is that some people are just lucky. That is, although centenarians have certain habits, this does not mean that these habits determine their longevity. This fallacy in logic is known as the “survival fallacy.”
"Just because you survived smoking 60 cigarettes a day doesn't mean smoking those 60 cigarettes a day is good for you," Faragher said.
The second theory, he said, is that long-lived people have special genetic characteristics. These genetic traits allow them to live longer lives—in other words, they are stronger because of their genetics.
Faragher said both theories lead to the same conclusion: "Never, ever take health and lifestyle advice from centenarians."
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“Most centenarians don’t do much exercise. Quite often their diet is not entirely healthy. Some of them even smoke,” he noted.
“This contradicts much of the existing epidemiological data on how to increase life expectancy,” Frager said.
One major study found that quitting smoking, exercising, drinking alcohol in moderation, and eating five servings of fruits and vegetables a day can increase life expectancy by almost 14 years.
“The fact that centenarians do a lot of unhealthy lifestyles and just go with the flow of life suggests that they are either lucky or, as a rule, very well endowed genetically,” the professor concluded.
Branyas acknowledged that luck played a role in her relatively long life. Mary's daughter Rose Moret once attributed it to genetics.
"She's never been in the hospital, she's never broken a bone, she's fine, she's not in pain," Moret noted in 2023.
Different factors can be interpreted differently
Faragher said many of the possibilities discussed for why centenarians live longer may actually be examples of reverse causation. For example, the idea that a positive attitude can help you live a very long time may be based, at least in part, on the idea that people are more optimistic because they are in better health.
“When was the last time you had a really positive attitude and your teeth hurt?” he asked.
Faragher added that one of the problems is that when looking at centenarians, there is a tendency to focus on things that might help them survive.
“But we don’t take into account the factors that impede their survival,” he explained.
Professor David James, a geneticist at University College London, said gender is an important factor in longevity (women age more slowly than men). But he agrees that luck is important too. In his opinion, one example is the natural variability in the rate of aging.
“I work with nematodes that only live a couple of weeks. The worms are genetically identical to each other and kept in the same conditions, but some worms die of old age after about 10 days, while others die after almost 30 days.”
Impact of progress
At the individual level, a bit of luck may help explain why some people live over 100 years. But experts say there are well-known factors that can improve life expectancy at a population level, including improved health care and hygiene.
“About 100 years ago we started to see huge advances in life expectancy. “It is driven by improvements in reducing the likelihood of child mortality,” said David Sinclair, CEO of the International Longevity Center. He noted that this is largely due to the introduction of vaccinations and clean water.
“What we have seen over the last 20 years, and will see over the next 20 years, is a similar focus on old age,” Sinclair concluded.
He added that this included improvements in flu and shingles vaccines, statins and other drugs that would help lengthen the lives of older people.
But he said governments need to take action to help people make healthier choices. This choice will ultimately help them live longer. Many people live in environments where it is difficult to exercise, eat well, or avoid pollution.
Sinclair said that while news about centenarians was generally positive, it often turned out that such people faced challenges, such as living alone for many years.
“Reality is not always as positive as it seems,” he concluded.