Known as the sister andrethe French nun Lucile Randon he was the oldest person in the world for whom there is a clear record. When she died, in January of this year, at 118 years old, it was estimated that it witnessed two world wars, the landing of man on the moon, the birth of television and the birth of the digital age.
However, his story remains an exception, given that the average life expectancy in the world is 73 years. On the other hand, it is estimated that with each passing day, people will live longer and it is expected that by the middle of this century the average longevity will exceed 77 years, according to projections from the United Nations.
This implies another phenomenon, just as life expectancy is rising, so too the birth rate is falling, which makes us an increasingly aged population. A few days ago, the BBC released the statistics of the countries with the highest life expectancy on the planet.
According to the British media, while in Monaco life expectancy is 87 years, in the Republic of Chad, a poor country located in Central Africa, is barely 53 years old. After the European principality, the life expectancy ranking is followed by the Chinese special administrative regions Hong Kong and Macauwhile fourth place is held by Japanwhich is the longest-lived country among world powers.
The list is completed Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Singapore, Italy, South Korea and Spainaccording to the report of UN World Population Prospects. Leaving aside pandemics and world wars, life expectancy has increased steadily globally over the past 200 years with the development of vaccines and antibiotics, better medicines, sanitation, food, and living conditions.
Although genetics is one of the most determining factors, and the one most endorsed by scientists and specialists, greater longevity is usually also associated with living conditions the place where a person was born and his decisions as an individual. It is not only about having access to a better health system and a better diet, but also about what experts call “smart decisions” in terms of having a balanced diet, getting enough sleep, managing stress levels and being physically active. .
Patrick Gerland, head of the United Nations Population Estimates and Projections Section, warns that there are states on the list like Monaco or Liechtenstein that, being so small, do not really represent a more diverse population than other nations. In this sense, the territories that lead the ranking with the highest life expectancy have two aspects in common: a high level of income and a small territorial area.
“They look like exceptional countries, but in reality they are a kind of artificial population. It is not a random combination of people as it happens in other parts of the world. What they share is a high standard of livingaccess to good health and education services, but it’s not a random selection,” Gerland told the UK’s official news agency.
“The differences can be seen between countries and also within the same country. Where there is more inequality, the life expectancy gap between social groups increases. Many of the Scandinavian countries, for example, are more egalitarian societies and with a longer life expectancy,” added the official of the international organization.
The so-called blue zones are very small populations where people live much longer than the rest of the people: Italian Sardinia was the first blue zone discovered in the world. A couple of decades ago the demographer Michel Poulain and the gerontologist Gianni Pes They dedicated themselves to investigating where in the world older people lived.
They would draw circles on a map with a thick blue marker in the towns or cities where people reached 100 years of age. So it was that they noticed that one of the parts of the map dyed in blue was the Barbagia region, on the Italian island of Sardiniaand ended up calling her “blue Zone”. Since then, the name has been associated with the points where the inhabitants enjoy extraordinary longevity in good living conditions.
Based on this study, the journalist Dan Buttner he assembled a team of experts to look for other communities where the same phenomenon was repeated. The people of Okinawa, in southern Japan, generally remain active well into their 90s. As a result, they found that, in addition to Sardinia, there were four other blue zones: the island of Okinawa, in Japan, the town of Nicoya in Costa Rica; the island of Icaria, in Greece; and the Loma Linda Adventist community in California. A few years later, Buettner published in 2008 his book “The blue zones: lessons to live longer from the people who have lived the longest”.
Eating less than satiety and having a balanced diet that includes plenty of vegetables, legumes, and fruits, consuming alcohol in moderation, engaging in regular physical activity as part of daily activities, and having a strong sense of community, being part of faith-building groups or religion, are some of the book’s conclusions regarding this phenomenon. While not all experts agree, the coincidences speak for themselves.
BBC source
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