Centenarians are models of living well and are defined as anyone in their 99th year of life and older.
The annual celebratory centenarian event held on May 12 at Posada Life brought 15 of 37 centenarians living in Green Valley and Sahuarita with each accompanied by a guest.
La Posada CEO Joni Condit attended and honored each centenarian. She praised them as “living examples of healthy living,” adding “life experiences and good luck also play a role, and technological advances after World War II contributed to increased numbers of people living healthier and longer lives.”
Regina Ford, Development Specialist at La Posada, visited each table and honored every centenarian reading a brief bio of each from the elegantly-printed Centenarian Celebration program.
Honored attendees included Ruth Afifi, Cora Jones, Lucille Nickel, Marian McFadden, Frank Callozza, Jack Almas, Jane Anderson, Marian Prucha, Carolyn Goodrich, Earla Swope, Bob Leanna, Nathaleen Bristol, Lynn Mueller and Karl Leebrick.
Each festive table had a yellow tablecloth and green cloth napkins with platters of colorful hand-decorated cupcakes and other baked treats.
Longevity research
Based on research started in 1994 by Dr. Thomas T. Perls of the New England Centenarian Study, he looked at the factors that lead to very long lives.
Dr. Perls believed our lives are determined 25 percent by heredity and 75 percent by our healthy and unhealthy life choices.
For centenarians, however, heredity deserves a larger share of credit.
The study revealed almost all centenarians were healthy enough to live independently until age 90, few were obese, most never smoked or smoked very little, and none drank heavily, if at all.
Many were physically active, maintained close relationships, were religious and about 95 percent of those in their 90s had their mental abilities intact.
Other factors of these centenarians showed they were unusually resilient, handled stress well, maintained a positive outlook on life and had a good sense of humor.
Dr. Perls also revealed that centenarians in his study owe their longevity mainly to their genes, a healthy lifestyle and an upbeat personality.
The New England Centenarian Study further demonstrated seniors can live to a very old age without developing Alzheimer’s disease.
Research also revealed centenarians have seven traits in common: being positive pays off, they feel connected and aren’t alone, they prioritize plant-based foods, and enjoy being outdoors and physically active.
Two other strong factors include having good genes and retaining a sense of purpose.
Based on a 2022 United Nations report, it is estimated there were 593,000 centenarians living around the world. The U.N. projects there will be 3.7 million centenarians alive by 2050.
By the numbers
People age 85 and older are the fastest growing age group in the U.S. and approximately 85 percent are women. As of 2017 there were about 40,000 in the U.S.
Centenarians age slowly delaying are-related disease until later in life.
Between 1980 and 2017 the centenarian population experienced a larger percentage increase than the total population. There were 86,248 people age 100 and older in 2017. This is more than double the 1980 figure of 32,194.
In 2021 the U.S. had a population of nearly 337,000,000 that included 89,739 centenarians.
What makes extreme longevity possible? Being in excellent health, having or had long-lived parents who were healthy in their later years, looking younger than your chronological age and having low blood pressure (average centenarians blood pressure is 110/80).
