Scientists have revealed the top three lifestyle choices needed to live to be 100 – and they don’t include giving up alcohol or losing weight.
Health experts in China found that not smoking, getting more exercise and eating a varied diet were the most important factors in living to a century.
They said education, marital status and late-life alcohol consumption made no significant difference to life expectancy.
Those who live in the city have just as much chance of reaching 100 as those who live in the countryside.
And a higher body mass index (BMI) in old age could actually help someone live longer, even if they spent their youth trying to lose weight.
The world’s oldest living person, María Branyas, from Spain, who turned 117 in March 2024
The oldest man in the world is the British John Tinniswood, who will celebrate his 112th birthday on August 26, 2024.
The oldest living person is María Branyas, from Spain, who is 117 years old.
The oldest man in the world is British John Tinniswood, who will celebrate his 112th birthday on August 26. He previously attributed his long life to a fish dinner every Friday.
Researchers from Shanghai’s Fudan University say their findings demonstrate the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle, even at a very old age, and insisted it is never too late to improve.
They added that special lifestyle improvement strategies should be designed for older people, and the benefits of healthy living should be promoted among people of all ages.
They also urged policymakers to come up with a new BMI scoring system that takes age into account, so people know the benefits of being heavier later in life.
The researchers studied detailed data from 5,222 people aged 80 and older. Of them, 1,454 had turned 100 years old.
Each person was assigned a ‘healthy lifestyle score’ (HLS) from 0 to 10 based on their smoking, drinking and exercise habits, as well as the variety of their diet and their body mass index (BMI). .
A person’s BMI can be calculated by dividing their weight in kilograms by their height in meters squared. It can give a rough estimate of whether someone is overweight or underweight.
The study, published in the journal Jama Network Open, found that those with a higher HLS were significantly more likely to reach 100.
People who had never smoked, always exercised regularly, and maintained a balanced diet had the best chances.
The researchers wrote: “Moderate alcohol consumption was not necessarily related to adverse health outcomes and higher BMI may play a protective role in mortality risk in older populations.”
“This raises the critical question of whether assessment of healthy lifestyle habits should be personalized across different age groups.
“Specifically, the BMI of very old people may reflect possible malnutrition and other chronic diseases rather than being an indicator of lifestyle.”
