How to Live to be 100

It seems a pretty common wish want to live forever - or at least live a long life. Well, now new research is giving out lifestyle advice on how to live to be at least 100 years old.

For the past 50 years, researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy have followed the health of 855 Gothenburg men born in 1913. Now at the end of the study, it turns out that 10 of the subjects lived to be 100, and researchers are giving away some of the secrets to their longevity.

A total of 27 percent (232) of the original group lived to the age of 80 and 13 percent (111) to 90. All in all, 1.1 percent of the subjects made it to their 100th birthday.

According to the study, 42 percent of deaths after the age of 80 were due to cardiovascular disease, 20 percent to infectious diseases, 8 percent to stroke, 8 percent to cancer, 6 percent to pneumonia and 16 percent to other causes.

A total of 23 percent of the over-80 group were diagnosed with some type of dementia.

Throughout the study, the team conducted surveys at the age of 54, 60, 65, 75, 80 and 100, allowing them to determine which factors appear to promote longevity.

"The unique design has enabled us to identify the factors that influence survival after the age of 50," Lars Wilhelmsen, who has been involved in the study for the past 50 years, said in a statement. "Our recommendation for people who aspire to centernarianism is to refrain from smoking, maintain healthy cholesterol levels and confine themselves to four cups of coffee a day."

In addition, those with a good socio-economic standard, who enjoy a robust working capacity, and have a mother who lived for a long time are more likely to live longer.

"Our findings that there is a correlation with maternal but not paternal longevity are fully consistent with previous studies," Wilhelmsen added.

However, researchers note that this "genetic factor" was weaker than the other factors, and so may not play as important a role in longevity compared to other factors.

Also, all of the participants that completed the study and lived to be 100 wore hearing aids and glasses, were able to read and watch TV, had good postures and used walkers, as well as exhibited good temporal and spatial cognition.

So if you want to live to see your 100^th birthday, take notes from these centenarians because they seem to know the answer.

The results are described in the Scandinavian Cardiovascular Journal.

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