One hundred secrets of a long life

30 cigarettes, 7 push-ups and a timely divorce

100 centenarians shared their secrets

Dmitry Kolesnik, "Mednovosti"

They were born at a time when it was still rare to find a car, an electric light bulb and a telephone, and they are still alive. One of these centenarians is, for example, Richard Overton, a 112-year-old resident of Texas. As a recipe for his longevity, he names 12 cigars and four glasses of whiskey a day.

According to UN estimates, 316,600 people over 100 years old lived in the world in 2012, and by 2050 there will be about 3.2 million such centenarians. In general, according to UN estimates, by 2050 20% of the world's population will be over 65 years old.

Journalists of the American website A Place for Mom conducted a survey of 100 centenarians who have passed 100 years to find out what they consider the secret of their longevity. As it turned out, not in all cases these people led a healthy lifestyle and followed a healthy diet. If a quarter of such centenarians claimed that the secret of longevity is in a healthy diet, then even more (29%) advised not to listen to recommendations on this score.

As for physical activity, only 21% of centenarians surveyed said that they regularly exercise and lead a mobile lifestyle. While some respondents claimed that activity, a healthy diet and family relationships help them live longer, others talked about a completely different lifestyle. 16% drink alcoholic beverages regularly, and 12% do not drink alcohol.

Top 10 lifestyle features of centenarians Table from the website aplaceformom.com – VM. 

Jeanne Calmen, who died in 1997 at the age of 122, was married for 46 years, and then lived alone for another 55 years. She considers olive oil, wine, cigarettes and chocolate to be the secret of her longevity.

Richard Overton, a veteran of World War II and the oldest man in the United States, considers ice cream, cigars and Bourbon whiskey to be the recipe for his longevity.

Emma Morano, a 117-year-old Italian, claimed that the fact that she kicked her husband out at one time and then never married again helped her to live up to her age.

Among other longevity recipes, the surveyed centenarians named sweet donuts, 30 cigarettes a day, 5-7 push-ups a day or a mug of beer. They called long-livers and sexual relations. 103-year-old Italian Vincenzo Baratta claims that his secret to longevity is to eat only once a day and "a lot of women."

Elizabeth Sullivan, at the age of 104, tells about her conversation with a doctor: "I once went to the doctor, and he asks me: "Do you care about what exactly you eat?" And I answered: "Of course not, I drink three bottles of Dr. Pepper a day (carbonated soft drink)." And he says to me: "My God, there's too much sugar in there! You will die if you keep drinking it." But after 10 years he died himself, and I had to look for another doctor. And I still drink three bottles of Dr. Pepper a day, and people still tell me that it's harmful, but you know, not very many people live to 104."

American gerontologist, Dr. David Demko argues that longevity is due to our genetics and lifestyle, but which of them is more important – it is still a topic of debate.

"It is now recognized that genetic risk factors play a role by 25%, and lifestyle factors play a role by 75%, but this ratio fluctuates as new research is conducted on reducing the risks of morbidity and mortality. Regardless of the exact ratio of these factors, it is obvious that the secret of longevity is not simply reduced to factors such as genetics or luck," says Demko.  

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