The key to longevity isn’t about taking vitamins or consuming health care or yogurt…it’s staying connected to family, friends, and world events.
 
That news comes to us from the third Evercare 100 @ 100 Survey which details ultra-seniors’ views on politics and the good life.

Evercare surveyed in-depth 100 centenarians. Collectively, their views challenge stereotypes of the oldest Americans alive today. There are 84,000 of them, according to the U.S. Bureau of the Census.

For example, 19% of centenarians use cell phones, 7% email, and 3% online date.

Google is a boon to looking for old, lost friends.
 
Evercare also surveyed 900 people from younger generations to compare findings, including the age cohorts G.I. (ages 84-98), Silent (ages 63-83), Baby Boomers (ages 44-62), Gen X (ages 30-43) and Millennials (ages 20-29).

Some of the key findings are:

– 90% believe that staying close to friends and family is the most important factor for healthy aging

– 90% believing keeping the mind active and 88% believe having a sense of humor also contribute to long life

– 54% say that the 2008 election is more important than previous presidential elections, and 70% plan to vote in this year’s Presidential election (vs. 60% of Millenials)

– A plurality of centenarians watch American Idol; 4 in 10 centenarians knows who Simon Cowell is

– 85% say spirituality is very important as a key to living longer.

Some methodological notes: GfK Roper conducted this survey of 1,000 between April 16 and May 4, 2008.
 
Evercare is a UnitedHealth company that addresses chronic care for 330,000 Americans through Medicare, Medicaid and private-pay health plans.
 
For more inspiration, see the video, Secrets of the Centenarians and Other Seniors, here on YouTube’s EverCare channel.

Health Populi’s Hot Points: “If I could leave any message, never stop learning. Period. That’s it,” according to Maurice Eisman, an Evercare enrollee and centenarian. We’re all about that here at Health Populi! See him at the end of this video on YouTube. He’s wise.

And as for the yogurt: go ahead, eat it. It’s part of a healthy diet, and it couldn’t hurt! Remember the Dannon ad in the 1970s the Marstellar created referred to as the “Old People in Russia” commercial? Bob Garfield of Ad Age included that ad in his Top 100 ads of the past 100 years; it’s #89 on the list here.