Centenarians smoke, drink and are overweight

People who live to 95 or older are no more virtuous than the rest of us in terms of their diet, exercise routine or smoking and drinking habits, according to researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. Their findings suggests that nature (in the form of protective longevity genes) may be more important than nurture (lifestyle behaviours) when it comes to living an exceptionally long life. The research did find, however, that overweight centenarians tended to have lower rates of obesity than the control group. Although male and female centenarians were just as likely to be overweight as their counterparts in the general population, the centenarians were significantly less likely to become obese: only 4.5 per cent of male centenarians were obese versus 12.1 per cent of controls; and for women, 9.6 per cent of centenarians were obese versus 16.2 per cent of controls. Both of these differences are statistically significant. Although this study demonstrates that centenarians can be obese, smoke and avoid exercise, those lifestyle habits are not good choices for most of us who do not have a family history of longevity. Most of the study's participants did not attribute their advanced age to lifestyle factors. One-third reported a history of family longevity, while 20 per cent believed that physical activity also played a role in their lifespan. Other factors included positive attitude (19 per cent), busy or active life (12 per cent), less smoking and drinking (15 per cent), good luck (8 per cent), and religion or spirituality (6 per cent).

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