How centenarians age gracefully
The typical ‘older person’ stereotype is frail and decrepit, but Victorian researcher Dr John McCormack claims more than half of centenarians live in the community and not in an aged care facility.
The typical ‘older person’ stereotype is frail and decrepit, but Victorian researcher Dr John McCormack claims more than half of centenarians live in the community and not in an aged care facility.
With more than 4,000 Australians aged 100 years and over, the La Trobe University centenarian expert says working hard and not being overweight are the most common characteristics among the 130 centenarians and super-centenarians he interviewed throughout his research.
“It’s assumed genes have quite a strong impact for longevity. But there are environmental influences as well and I’ve found most of the people have lived fairly healthy lives,” he says.
Dr McCormack explains physical work was the norm in a centenarian’s era and claims he hasn’t found any centenarian in Australia who is overweight.
Health advancements and disease control are aiding the rising number of people aged 100 years and over, which doubles every eight years. However, staying active and being independent are also components to living longer, Dr McCormack claims.
He says although the gender gap is closing, women still predominate amongst centenarians.
“Out of the 130 people sampled, 80% were women. Women tend to look after themselves better than men, health-wise.
“More than a third of my sample had no children, which is a bit over the standard representation in the census.
“If they did have children, women often had them in their forties. It seems like they’d delayed, or pushed menopause back a little bit, which may be an indication that somehow or other they were ageing a bit more slowly.”
