Living beyond 100

They calculate that in Malta right now there are over 100 people who are 100 years and older. While most of us can expect to live to around 80, some people defy expectations and live to be over 100. In places such as Okinawa, Japan and Sardinia, Italy, there are many centenarians. The oldest person in history – a French woman named Jeanne Calment – lived to 122. When she was born in 1875, the average life expectancy was roughly 43. The oldest and still most widely used method for calculating life expectancy, and thus lifespan, relies on the Gompertz equation. This is the observation, first made in the 19th century, that human death rates from disease increase exponentially with time. Essentially, this means your chance of death – from cancer, heart disease and many infections, for example – roughly doubles every eight to nine years. But just how long could a human actually live? It’s a question people have been asking for centuries. While average life expectancy (the number of years a person can expect to live) is relatively easy to calculate, maximum lifespan estimates (the greatest age a human could possibly reach) are much harder to make. Recent study proposes that the limit to human lifespan is closer to 150. Three important things are worth considering. First is good genes, which makes living to be more than a hundred a good bet. Second, an excellent diet and exercise plan, which can add up to 15 years to life expectancy. And lastly, a breakthrough in turning our knowledge of the biology of ageing into treatments and medicines that can increase healthy lifespan. Right now in our Retirement Home at Hilltop Gardens there are two 101 year-olds, one 100 year-old, two 99 year-olds, three 98 year-olds, and a bunch over 95!