The mthy - Secrets to living longer

[SGMCF328]

An interesting article which hold quite some truth. I would love this guy to conduct a study on @RadX to see our resident undertaker is really a vampire from the stone age. Hahahaha

Secret to living to 110? Bad record-keeping, researcher says

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/world/the-secret-to-living-to-110-bad-record-keeping-researcher-says

PARIS – Most of what people know about humans living to very old age is based on faulty data, including the science behind the “blue zones” famous for having a high proportion of people over 100, according to one researcher.

The desire to live as long as possible has driven a booming lifestyle industry selling supplements, books, tech and tips to those wanting to learn the secrets of the world’s oldest people.

But Mr Saul Justin Newman, a researcher at University College London’s Centre for Longitudinal Studies, said most extreme old age data “is junk to a really shocking degree”.

His research, which is being peer-reviewed, looked at data about centenarians and supercentenarians – people who live to 100 and 110 – in the United States, Italy, England, France and Japan.

Contrary to what one might expect, he found that supercentenarians tended to come from areas with poor health, high levels of poverty – and bad record-keeping.

The true secret to extreme longevity seems to be to “move where birth certificates are rare, teach your kids pension fraud and start lying”, Mr Newman said as he accepted an Ig Nobel prize, a humorous version of the Nobel, in September.

Just one of many examples is Mr Sogen Kato, who was thought to be Japan’s oldest living person until his mummified remains were discovered in 2010.

It turned out he had been dead since 1978. His family was arrested for collecting three decades of pension payments.

The government launched a review which found that 82 per cent of Japan’s centenarians – 230,000 people – were missing or dead.

“Their paperwork is in order, they’re just dead,” Mr Newman said.

This illustrates the problem he has sought to shine a light on – that confirming ages in this field involves triple-checking very old documents that could have been wrong from the start.

The industry that has popped up around blue zones is one “symptom” of this problem, he noted.

Blue zones are regions around the world where people are said to live disproportionately longer and healthier.

The term was first used in 2004 by researchers referring to the Italian island of Sardinia.

The following year, National Geographic reporter Dan Buettner wrote a story that added the Japanese islands of Okinawa and Californian city Loma Linda.

He admitted to the New York Times in October that he included Loma Linda because his editor told him: “You need to find America’s blue zone.”

The reporter teamed up with some demographers to create the Blue Zones lifestyle brand, and they added Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula and Greek island Ikaria to the list.

However, as seen in Japan, later government records have cast doubt on old age data in these regions.

In Costa Rica, 2008 research showed that 42 per cent of centenarians “lied about their age” in an earlier census, Mr Newman said.

For Greece, he found 2012 data suggesting that 72 per cent of the country’s centenarians were dead or imaginary.

“They’re only alive on pension day,” he noted.

Several prominent blue zone researchers wrote a rebuttal earlier this year, calling his work “ethically and academically irresponsible”.

They accused Mr Newman of referring to broader regions of Japan and Sardinia when the blue zones were smaller areas.

The demographers also emphasised they “meticulously validated” the ages of supercentenarians in blue zones, double-checking historical records and registries dating back to the 1800s.

Mr Newman said this argument illustrated his point.

“If you start with a birth certificate that’s wrong, that gets copied to everything, and you get perfectly consistent, perfectly wrong records,” he added.

The only “way out of this quagmire” is to physically measure people’s ages, Mr Newman said.

Mr Steve Horvath, an ageing researcher at the University of California, said he created a technique called a methylation clock “for the express purpose of validating claims of exceptional longevity”.

The clock can “reliably detect instances of severe fraud”, such as when a child assumes his parent’s identity, but cannot yet tell the difference between a 115- and 120-year-old, he added.

Mr Horvath has offered to test a DNA sample of Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who died at 122 in 1997 and holds the record for the oldest confirmed age.

Mr Newman’s analysis “appears to be both rigorous and convincing”, Mr Horvath said, adding that several blue zones are overseen by rigorous scientists.

“I suspect both opinions hold some truth,” he added.

So what can people at home take away from this debate?

“If you want to live a long time, step number one: Don’t buy anything,” Mr Newman said.

“Listen to your GP (doctor), do some exercise, don’t drink, don’t smoke – that’s it.” AFP

[Victor68]

Is living longer important? 😜 

[RadX]

I believe in quality of life than quantity 

 

if I’m 65 and bed ridden… pls euthanize me…

[Lala81]

Yup. Some of these are exaggerated.

The organisation who gives these "blue zones" is under the 7th day adventist group which are vegans. So take it with a pinch of salt.

 

[RadX]

There’s a documentary on CNA that shows this Italian town w many octogenarians and those centenarians.. apparently the weather and the healthy diet contributes to longevity as well.

 

https://www.npr.org/2016/03/30/472442367/in-one-italian-village-nearly-300-residents-are-over-100-years-old#:~:text=It's called Acciaroli.,reached 110 years of age.

[ER-3682]

On 12/13/2024 at 2:13 PM, RadX said:

There’s a documentary on CNA that shows this Italian town w many octogenarians and those centenarians.. apparently the weather and the healthy diet contributes to longevity as well.

 

https://www.npr.org/2016/03/30/472442367/in-one-italian-village-nearly-300-residents-are-over-100-years-old#:~:text=It's called Acciaroli.,reached 110 years of age.

Japanese also very long life.

[RadX]

On 12/13/2024 at 2:42 PM, ER-3682 said:

Japanese also very long life.

Indeed! Antioxidants may play that role in it

[ER-3682]

Italians very long life,but their Cars very Problematic.

[RadX]

On 12/13/2024 at 2:43 PM, ER-3682 said:

Italians very long life,but their Cars very Problematic.

@Theoldjaffa testament to that😂😂

[Victor68]

On 12/13/2024 at 2:43 PM, ER-3682 said:

Italians very long life,but their Cars very Problematic.

The famous fiat 124 in the 70+ 😆 

[Carbon82]

Ask those maids working here, many over-declared their actual age in order to get their WP. But the case with Japanese is rather shocking, how can someone who has pass on not being captured on the national database?

Agreed that living a quality live with dignity is far more important than being bed ridden at age of 80, 90, 100. In fact quite some senior already has issues with walking at the age of 70s. Got money cannot spend is rather torturing imo.

[RadX]

On 12/14/2024 at 11:33 AM, Carbon82 said:

Ask those maids working here, many over-declared their actual age in order to get their WP. But the case with Japanese is rather shocking, how can someone who has pass on not being captured on the national database?

Agreed that living a quality live with dignity is far more important than being bed ridden at age of 80, 90, 100. In fact quite some senior already has issues with walking at the age of 70s. Got money cannot spend is rather torturing imo.

Exactly

 

So YOLO…😂

[mersaylee]

On 12/13/2024 at 2:43 PM, RadX said:

Indeed! Antioxidants may play that role in it

I tink it got to do with becos they donno how to cook...eat raw most of the time...only occasionally sprinkle some salt or dip the soy sauce...plus wasabi to kill germs...😂

[mersaylee]

On 12/13/2024 at 2:46 PM, RadX said:

@Theoldjaffa testament to that😂😂

I tink he loves his Italian gal very much...stay more in workshop safer mah...more dangerous to gbring her on the road to only kena left right centre front and back from phv...😁

 

[mersaylee]

That article neber list another known secret here...live in cave and eat hospital kind of food can live very long also 🙏😁

[Kklim]

Being happy when alive is more important. 

[BanCoe]

Aiyah ! All TCSS here …… want to live long meanz studi up2 preambree Tree oni ……. And live like me in Okinawa ( @Jamesc MIL tell me 1 secret to looooongevity ….. she will Consperm outlive SIL 🤪🤪🤪

[ER-3682]

On 12/14/2024 at 12:05 PM, mersaylee said:

That article neber list another known secret here...live in cave and eat hospital kind of food can live very long also 🙏😁

This one referring to our in House ''Caveman'' @13177.?