Will you live to blow out 100 birthday candles? If you’re thinking NOT ME, then consider that a lot more people are making it to the triple digits in the 21st century. Thanks to advances in technology, education, and healthcare and medicine, the number of centenarians increased by a whopping 51 percent between 1990 and 2000 alone.
There’s no question about it, women and men are living longer than ever before in human history, and it has become much more likely that you will someday fill the post of great-great-grandparent. What many folks do not realize is that our circumstances and everyday habits play a major role in how long (and how well) a person will live.
Here are 13 signs that YOU will live to the ripe old age of 100…
You Had a Healthy Weight in Your Teens
In a pediatrics study, 137 African Americans were followed from birth to 28 years of age. What it found is that being overweight at age 14 makes it more likely that one will have type 2 diabetes as an adult.
Diabetes increases the risk of developing heart disease by up to 400 percent in adults. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. It kills more than 610,000 people annually.
Your Mother Had You When She Was Young
Did your mom give birth to you in her early twenties or perhaps before that? If so, then you have a much better chance of living to be a centenarian, some research studies have shown.
According to scientists at the University of Chicago, your chances of living to 100 double if your mother had you before age 25, as a women’s healthiest eggs tend to go to fertilization first.
Your Belly Is Flat After Menopause
Women with larger tummies and waists are 20 percent more likely to die prematurely, the National Institute on Aging has revealed – even if they have a normal body mass index.
Once a woman reaches menopause, keeping the midsection trim requires more effort due to hormonal changes. In other words, having a lean midriff in your fifties is an indicator that you may live longer.
You Are Calorie-Conscious
Individuals who limit calorie intake to between 1,400 and 2,000 daily stay younger at heart, researchers have discovered. Their heart function matches that of adults 15 years younger.
Moreover, those who avoid empty calories from sugary, oily, and fatty foods and consume nutrient-dense foods tend to live longer lives and enjoy considerably better health.
You Don’t Smoke
Cigarette smoking – a well-known cause of cancers, respiratory problems like COPD, and heart disease – causes premature death. On average, it shortens life expectancy by 10 years.
Smoking kills 480,000 Americans each year. The good news is that quitting smoking before age 40 lowers the risk of death from smoking-related diseases by approximately 90 percent.
You Don’t Drink Cola
Colas and diet colas are unhealthy. In fact, Boston scientists have found that drinking just one regular or diet cola each day can significantly increase your risk of developing metabolic syndrome.
Metabolic syndrome a serious health condition. It places a person at risk for deadly cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke, and diseases associated with fatty buildups in the walls of the arteries.
You Avoid Red Meat
Occasionally consuming beef, lamb, or pork is fine if you limit servings to around two ounces, but when you exceed 18 ounces of red meat weekly, you increase your risk of colorectal cancer.
The risk of developing colorectal cancer also increases with every three or so ounce serving of processed meat consumed each day. Bottom line, eating too much red and processed meat shortens lives.
You Exercise
Researchers tracked runners and nonrunners over two decades. The results? Adults who spent 5 hours a week running lived longer. They also showed better physical and cognitive function as they aged.
Aerobic exercise strengthens the immune system, keeping the body healthy. For people short on time who don’t enjoy running, walking for just 20 minutes daily can offer life-extending benefits.
You Do Your Own Housework
If you spend time each day doing your own housekeeping (a form of physical exercise that improves overall fitness and health), then there’s a strong possibility that you will live longer.
A study involving hundreds of older adults found that one can burn close to 300 calories mopping floors, vacuuming, or washing windows for around 60 minutes, reducing the risk of death by 30 percent.
You Maintain Friendships
Maintaining interpersonal relationships protects you from the harmful effects of stress, and having supportive friends who aren’t critical or judgmental promotes mental and physical health.
Stress, especially when it is chronic and severe, can be very damaging. It weakens the body’s immune system and speeds up cell aging, which can shorten a person’s lifespan by up to eight years.
Your Friends Are Healthy
When your friends pick up weight, there’s an almost 60 percent chance that you will gain pounds, too. That is one of the findings from a recent study in the New England of Journal of Medicine.
On the other hand, you’re also likely to lose weight when your friends do. Thus, associating with individuals who are physically active and keep fit is important for maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
You Started Menopause Later Than Usual
The average age for the onset of menopause is 51, but there have been studies conducted which suggest that women who naturally start menopause after the age of 52 may live longer.
What’s the reason? Heart disease. That is, women who experience menopause later in life probably have a much lower risk of developing problems relating to the heart, increasing lifespan.
You Had Children in Your Forties
A recent study showed that if you are able to achieve a natural pregnancy after the age of 44, then there is a 15 percent decrease in the likelihood that you will die during any year after you turn 50.
Having healthy ovaries that can produce children without any complications in your mid-forties indicates that you have genes functioning that may facilitate a longer life, researchers report.
