Longevity programmed in genes, study shows

Avoiding the vices of over-indulgence and idleness is no guarantee of reaching a ripe old age, a study has found.

Most people know an indestructible ancient relative who smokes, drinks and tucks into stodgy food with abandon.

Other less fortunate souls take scrupulous care of their health and still die young from heart disease or cancer.

The reason is that longevity may be programmed into the genes of certain lucky individuals.

New research suggests that nature is more important than lifestyle, or “nurture”, when it comes to exceptionally long lifespans.

Scientists interviewed 477 Ashkenazi Jews between the ages of 95 and 112 who were enrolled into an ongoing study of longevity.

Ashkenazi Jews are descended from a small founder group and more genetically uniform than other populations.

The elderly participants, 75 per cent of whom were women, were questioned about their lifestyle at the age of 70 – considered to be representative of how they had lived for most of their adult lives.

They answered questions about weight and height and provided information on alcohol consumption, smoking habits, physical activity and diet.

The results were compared with data from 3,164 people born around the same time as the centenarians who had taken part in a health and diet survey.

Overall, the long-living group did not have healthier habits than the comparison group.

For instance, just 27 per cent of the elderly women and an equal percentage of women in the general population attempted to eat a low-calorie diet.

Among long-living men, 24 per cent consumed alcohol daily compared with 22 per cent of the general population.

And just 43 per cent of male centenarians reported engaging in regular exercise of moderate intensity, compared with 57 per cent of men in the comparison group.

Study leader Nir Barzilai, professor and director of the Institute for Aging Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University, New York, said: “In previous studies of our centenarians we’ve identified gene variants that exert particular physiology effects, such as causing significantly elevated levels of high density lipoprotein, or ‘good’ cholesterol.

“This study suggests that centenarians may possess additional longevity genes that help to buffer them against the harmful effects of an unhealthy lifestyle.”

The study did find that although centenarians were just as likely to be overweight as members of the general population, significantly fewer of them were clinically obese.

Only 4.5 per cent of male centenarians were obese compared with 12.1 per cent of the general group. For women, 9.6 per cent of centenarians and 16.2 per cent of the general population were obese.

Prof. Barzilai added: “Although this study demonstrates that centenarians can be obese, smoke and avoid exercise, those lifestyle habits are not good choices for most of us who do not have a family history of longevity. We should watch our weight, avoid smoking and be sure to exercise, since these activities have been shown to have great health benefits for the general population, including a longer lifespan.”

Asked why they believed they had lived so long, few participants mentioned lifestyle.

One third reported a history of family longevity, while 20 per cent thought physical activity played a role. Other factors included positive attitude (19 per cent), a busy or active life (12 per cent), restrained smoking and drinking (15 per cent), good luck ( eight per cent), and religion or spirituality (six per cent).