Reply #24: Links to photos and centenarian interview

[txlibdem]

Shows this and overweight women centenarians and supercentenarians (110 years old+):
http://www.grg.org/Calment8.html
... see this link for more photos: http://www.grg.org/calment.html

Is the answer in giving up all your "bad habits?" Here is the stats for one centenarian gentleman:

Family History:

Father: George died at age 53;
Mother: Lidy Ingram died at age 69;
Siblings: He had two sisters and one brother (younger). The sisters died at 96 and 103 yo, respectively; and his brother died at age 84.
Spouse: His wife, Matie, died at age 78 in 1964 (when he was 75).
Children: They had 2 boys (and 2 girls?), and there are now numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Social History:

Tobacco: Smoked 1 pack of cigarettes per day at one point;
Alcohol: "I drank some beer."
Caffeine: He religiously drinks one cup of coffee before each meal.
Occupation(s): Farmer, and later, truck driver.

Mental Status:

He is able to feed himself.

He sang a song for the staff.

Question: Who is the President of the United States? Answer: "I don't pay attention to that sort of thing."

Question: How much does a car cost today? Answer: "I don't know because I haven't bought a car in a long time."

Question: When did you retire? Answer: "I'm not retired yet!"

Laboratory Data:

A blood sample was drawn last year and sent for analysis to the New England Centenarian Study . Hopefully, DNA SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms) of important longevity genes will be studied systematically in the Centenarian population.

http://www.grg.org/JMcMorran.htm

... from this page http://www.grg.org/CalmentMen.html (click on the pictures to get their stats)

(note that Farming is listed as one of the most dangerous occupation in America -- how much of a part does luck play?)

Some would call these bad habits:

Antonio Todde, a New Record-Holder at 111, and his Daughter Angela, 76.
World's Oldest Living Man Owes It All to Wine, Pasta, and Genes
by
John Follain, The Times of London
Photograph by Nick Cornish

July 30, 2000; Tiana, Sardinia, ITALY (The Sunday Times of London) -- When Antonio Todde was born in his remote village in the heart of Sardinia, Benito Mussolini had just started school on the Italian mainland and in Paris the Eiffel Tower was inching its way skywards. Now, 111 years later, the retired shepherd is claiming his own piece of history as the world's oldest man.

Not that he is unduly excited about his forthcoming entry in The Guinness Book of Records. Smartly turned out in a starched white shirt and dark suit, with a typical Sardinian flat cap perched on his crop of silver hair, Todde asked in a husky voice: "You have come all this way to tell me that I'm the oldest man? Who says so?"

The answer lies with a group of biochemists from the University of Sassari, who chanced across Todde as they combed Sardinia's census records to discover why the island has such a high proportion of centenarians - more than 13 per 100,000 inhabitants. Astonished to see his birth certificate dated January 22, 1889, they established that he was older than the current holder of the Guinness record, Mr. Benjamin Harrison Holcomb, an Oklahoma farmer who was born on July 3rd of the same year. Mr. Holcomb's longevity is attributed to an ability to weep freely, reducing the impact of any stress. But Mr. Todde, who has spent his life in Tiana at the foot of the Gennargentu mountains, has a simpler formula. "You take one day after the other, you just go on," he said. "Just love your brother and drink a glass of good wine."

http://www.grg.org/atodde.htm

Here is what one centenarian said:

CENTENARIAN Alice Chadwick says the secret to a long life is a dry martini every day before lunch.

Mrs Chadwick who has just celebrated her 100th birthday said the cocktail, sometimes with a little gin, had kept her life long and healthy.

The Revidge resident celebrated her birthday with dozens of friends and family at the Blackburn Golf Club on January 6.

Mrs Chadwick who joined the club in 1944, with her husband John, played until she was 90 and over the years has represented it as both captain and president.

She said: "I have been very active all my life and played a lot of golf but I do think the dry martini once a day has definitely contributed.

http://www.blackburncitizen.co.uk/news/8781274.Blackburn_centenarian_reveals_secret_of_long_life_is_dry_martini_every_day_before_lunch/

"Centenarians are a very diverse group of people. Some follow very healthy lifestyles and others break every rule and reach extreme old age despite drinking and smoking and lousy diets."
http://www.thecentenarian.co.uk/typical-lifetime-dietary-habits-of-centenarians.html
(particularly interesting is the paragraph about Azerbaijan centenarians: they eat lots of dairy fats and milk)

With such a small population of centenarians and supercentenarians to study and such differences in their lifestyles I can't say with any certainty that lifestyle has any influence at all.