The death of the world’s oldest person, Maria Branyas Morera, at the age of 117 might cause many to ponder the secrets of an exceptionally long life, but scientists say it could be best to avoid taking advice on longevity from centenarians themselves.
According to the Guinness World Records website, Branyas believed her longevity stemmed from “order, tranquility, good connection with family and friends, contact with nature, emotional stability, no worries, no regrets, lots of positivity and staying away from toxic people”.
However, Richard Faragher, a professor of biogerontology at the University of Brighton, said that in reality scientists were still trying to work out why some people lived beyond the age of 100.
Faragher said there were two main theories and they were not mutually exclusive.
The first, he said, was that some individuals were essentially just lucky. In other words, just because centenarians had certain habits, it did not mean those habits were driving their longevity – an error in logic known as “survivorship bias”.
“Merely because you have survived smoking 60 a day doesn’t mean that smoking 60 a day is good for you,” Faragher said.
Son of a beeswax… I didn’t know there was another David Sinclair prominent in Longevity.
“From about 100 years ago, what we started seeing was huge advances in life expectancy driven by improvements in reducing the likelihood that children die,” said David Sinclair, the chief executive of the International Longevity Centre, noting that was largely down to the introduction of vaccinations and clean water.
Her advice sounds good to me…I’d take that over some egghead in a lab coat. Hope he didn’t give a speech at her birthday party.
“Never, ever take health and lifestyle tips from a centenarian.”
“Woman who lived to 105 said her secret was a glass of whiskey every day”
It’ll be more interesting when the current generation of “bio hackers” live to 100 so we can hear what they’ve done, since they’re actually trying to live for a very long time.
though even as a prior scientist i’ve been guilty of being tempted to generalize observations of my own bodily responses to others’. i think it’s a primordial instinct to want our views adopted by others, like religion. what works for me, whether a religion or a diet or a habit, should work for you too!
One might expect that someone leading such a massive conglomerate since 1970 would adhere to a healthy diet to maintain his vitality.
Surprisingly, many would consider Buffett’s eating habits quite the opposite.
“I eat like a six-year-old,” the CEO famously toldFortune in 2015, describing his love for “Utz” potato sticks and daily intake of five 12-ounce Coca Cola’s. “If I eat 2,700 calories a day, a quarter of that is Coca-Cola. I do it every day.”
In a 2017 HBOdocumentary called Becoming Warren Buffett , the billionaire revealed he stops at McDonald’s every day for a $3.17 breakfast made up of one of three items: two sausage patties, a sausage, egg and cheese, or a bacon, egg and cheese. Which he, of course, enjoys with a Coke.
In this context though the quote was highly irrelevant. Centenarians didn’t get to their age by spending $ on their health, they mostly got there through luck and genetics.
I think it’s stupid to say “never” take tips from centenarians. Some tips are stupid like smoking or drinking or fast food. But if you look at what they’re really saying, whether it’s Warren Buffet or Maria, the 117 year old the lead article is about, it’s a valuable tip - enjoy life! Do what makes you happy, usually involving friends, family, social contacts. The article (Fortune Well) on Buffet is mostly about what makes him happy, keeps his mind sharp and good sleep - fast food is just one of the little things that make him happy. The same might be said of people that mention a drink or occasional cigar (George Burns). It’s part of what makes life enjoyable. Socializing in the blue zones is often based around getting together around happy hour for a glass of wine or a beer. So the minor negative impact of a little alcohol is more than compensated for by the larger benefit of social interaction (and, no, you don’t have to drink).
So enjoyment of life is what motivates us to work on living longer, and that may be more important than luck or genetics - and I’m not sure even pharmaceuticals will save a lonely, depressed pessimist. Of course everything in moderation…do hedonists die young? I still think Maria’s health advice - “order, tranquility, good connection with family and friends, contact with nature, emotional stability, no worries, no regrets, lots of positivity and staying away from toxic people” - is a tip worth taking.
…I forgot to include the word “stress” but in today’s world avoiding stress is key…
When you get up around 85, the formula starts to matter - how much effort do I have to put in - and - how much enjoyment do I get back. Once that ratio starts to tip…and you can count on it taking more effort the older you get…your body is going to start giving up…and physical activity will probably be the first domino to fall.
…" JOIE DE VIVRE "…
Consider the advice “Look before crossing the road”. That’s great advice. No one wants to get run over. Furthermore, following this advice will increase your life expectancy. Trivially, since being run over is incompatible with extended survival.
Unfortunately many folks who should know better start shifting words. “Increase life expectancy” becomes “prolong life expectancy” (what does it mean to prolong an average?). “Prolong life expectancy” becomes “prolong life”, equivalently “delay death”, and finally “delay aging”. Which is absurd, of course. Looking both ways doesn’t make you age slower. It makes you less likely to get run over. Similarly not drinking, extreme exercise, wearing sunscreen, or whatever you’re advising would surely help to avoid various ailments that might well kill you, but might not make you age differently at all.
I’m interested specifically in aging. I recognize that might not be the focus of all here.
Now, let’s pretend we’re one of these people making claims of delaying aging. Let’s claim, for arguments sake, that avoiding metalcore music (or whatever metalcore was in 1930) slows aging by 10% average over the lifetime. That’s 11 years for a 110 year old. Women that age have a >50% chance of dying per year, so 11 extra years gives you >2000 times advantage. A metalcore listener reaching 115 would thus be extremely unlikely in comparison to a non-listener. If we observe one or more such person then we should strongly consider abandoning the claim that music choice has any effect on aging.
