ANALYSIS
Why you should never take health advice from a 100-year-old
Living longer is a goal for many of us. But should we be following the lifestyles of those that live past 100?
ABOVE
Jeanne Calment celebrates her 117th birthday in 1992. She is reported to have lived to be 122.
GETTY IMAGES, ALAMY
Centenarians – people who live to be 100 years old and over – were once a rare breed. But they’ve became increasingly common since the mid to late 20th century, thanks to improvements in diet, healthcare and lifestyle.
However, a recent analysis by the Office for National Statistics suggests that the number of centenarians in England and Wales may have peaked. In 2023, there was a 0.5-per-cent decrease in centenarians compared to 2022, with the total falling from 14,920 to 14,850. This drop is thought to be tied to the decline of the post-WWI ‘baby boom’ generation.
How did so many people make it to this ripe old age? And can we learn from them to improve our chances of doing the same? It might seem logical to ask the oldest living people for their secret to longevity, but Dr Bradley Elliott, Senior Lecturer in Physiology at the University of Westminster, explains that this approach alone is unreliable due to a phenomenon known as survivorship bias (drawing conclusions from a group that has survived, while ignoring those who didn’t).