Centenarians have good genes rather than good lifestyles: Study

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDAug 4 2011

According to a new US study, people who live to old age may not eat better, exercise more or smoke less than others.

The team of researchers interviewed 477 people who were living independently and were 95 and older who were participating in a longevity research project that is trying to understand why centenarians live as long as they do. The participants were asked about their lifestyles at age 70, which was considered to reflect the lifestyle they'd followed for most of their adult lives, such as whether they drank alcohol, smoked tobacco, exercised and what they ate. They compared this with data from 3,164 people who had been born around the same time as the centenarians and were examined between 1971 and 1975 as part of a national survey.

Results showed that this exceptional longevity in the study participants did not mean that they had healthier habits than the comparison group in terms of body mass index, smoking, physical activity or diet. The study was published in Wednesday's online issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

They noted that around 43 per cent of the men who lived to be at least 100 exercised regularly, compared with 57 per cent in the control group. Among men, 4.5% of centenarians and 12.1% of the general population were obese, and among women, 9.6% of the centenarians and 16.2% of the general population were obese. About three-quarters of those in the long-lived group were women. The centenarian participants were also Ashkenazi Jews. The researchers said Ashkenazi Jews are more genetically uniform than other populations, which makes it easier to spot gene differences that are present.

Study author Dr. Nir Barzilai, a professor of medicine and of genetics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, N.Y said, “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…We should watch our weight, avoid smoking and be sure to exercise, since these activities have been shown to have great health benefits for the general population, including a longer lifespan.”

When the researchers asked participants why they believed they had lived so long, one-third reported a history of family longevity, while 20 per cent believed that physical activity also played a role. 19% cited positive attitude, 12% an active life, 15% abstinence from alcohol and cigarettes, 8% good luck and 6% cited spirituality as the reason for their longevity.

The research was supported by grants from the U.S. National Institute on Aging.