For centuries, humanity has tried to unravel the mystery of longevity. After all, according to the Bible, before the Flood, people lived up to 900 years. And Methuselah lived to be 969.
However, scientists still don't know why some people become supercentenarians. Some of these lucky ones spend their entire lives drinking, smoking, and indulging in "various unhealthy excesses," while others adhere to a strict diet and lead a healthy lifestyle. We don't know the answer to this question either. But we do know..., How old is the oldest person in the world?.
The oldest living person
The oldest person on Earth is currently Kane Tanaka, a Japanese resident. According to the latest data from the Guinness Book of World Records website, she is the oldest person on Earth. Her age already crossed for 117 years old, A January 2, 2021 she would be 118 years old.
Kane Tanaka's life is a shining example of the importance of persevering at any age. At 103, she was diagnosed with colon cancer, but she successfully overcame it and continues to enjoy life. She believes the secret to longevity lies in hope, family support, a healthy diet, and sleep.
The previous record holder for longevity, Nabi Tajima, lived for 117 years and 260 days, and died in 2018.
And the title the oldest man in the world among living men in February 2020, passed to the British Robertу Weightonу. His documented date of birth is March 29, 1908, and he has already celebrated his 112th birthday.
Robert Weighton died in his sleep on May 28, 2020, from cancer.
Just imagine that per year, ToWhen he was born, Theodore Roosevelt was the President of the United States, The Tunguska meteorite fell in Siberia, а «Titanic» haven't even started yetinali buildsь.
In due time Weighton managed to work as an engineer and a teacher, visited in Taiwan, Japan and Canada, and now lives in nursing home в city Alton. He has two sons, a daughter, 10 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren. The long-liver goes grocery shopping himself, and his walker proudly bears a sign: 111. He drinks alcohol. only in special cases, does not smoke and does not eat redе meatо. As for any special diet, Robert doesn't have one. Weighton No.
«"I didn't do anything to deserve or reach this age. I'm just one of the lucky ones."», - he once said the oldest living man on Earth. And he had only one recommendation for those who wanted to live to his age: Don't die!
Before him, the oldest person in the world was Masadzo Nonaka, island resident Hokkaido, who died in 2019, at the age of 113.
He fell just short of his 113th birthday. Chitetsu Watanabe, which at the beginning of this year officially awarded the title of the oldest man in the world from the Guinness Book of Records. He died quite recently, February 23, 2020 years, at the age of 112 years, 355 days. During life Watanabe said that the secret to longevity lies in don't get angry and smile more often.
The oldest person who ever lived
On August 4, 1997, Jeanne Calment died in a nursing home in France. Of course, the Grim Reaper will come for us all, but he was in no hurry to visit Mrs. Calment. She died at the age of 122 years and 164 days, setting the official record for human longevity.
Before her, the title of "oldest person on the planet," according to the Guinness Book of World Records, was held by Japanese Shigechiyo Izumi, who was born on June 29, 1865, and died on February 21, 1986, at the age of 120 years and 237 days. Interestingly, both Kalman and Izumi were heavy drinkers and smokers.
Unofficially, the oldest person on Earth was a Chinese man named Li Qingyun, presumably (as there are no documents confirming this) born in 1736 and died in 1933. Some sources even cite 1677 as Qingyun's birth date. This would make him 256 years old at the time of his death.
This man spent most of his life gathering medicinal herbs in the mountains of Sichuan and comprehending the secret of longevity. When asked about the secret of his incredibly long life, Li replied, "Keep your heart still, sit like a tortoise, walk like a dove, and sleep like a dog." He also practiced qigong exercises and drank an herbal infusion, the recipe for which has been lost.
List of the oldest people on the planet
Here's what the top ten verified long-livers of Earth look like, both those still alive and those who have already left this world.
- Jeanne Calment lived to be 122 years old.
- Sarah Knauss lived to be 119 years old.
- Lucy Hannah lived to be 117 years old.
- Nabi Tajima lived to be 117 years old.
- Marie Louise Meyer lived to be 117 years old.
- Violet Brown lived to be 117 years old.
- Emma Morano lived to be 117 years old.
- Misao Okawa lived to be 117 years old.
- Kane Tanaka - 117 years old, alive.
- Chiyo Miyako lived to be 117 years old.
There are no men in the top 10 long-lived people, because the oldest verified long-liver (Jiroemon Kimura) lived 116 years and 54 days.
How long can a person theoretically live?
According to the Bible, a person could theoretically live to the age of Methuselah—969 years. According to Li Qingyun, it's possible to live to over 250 years.
However, Ian Vidge, an expert on aging at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, doubts we'll ever see centenarians like Jeanne Calment again. Human life expectancy has increased over the past few decades. But now, Vidge believes, we've reached the upper limit of human longevity, and humans won't reach 115 years.
Dr. Vij and his graduate students published evidence for this pessimistic prediction in the journal Nature in 2016.
Scientists analyzed how many people of different ages were alive in a given year. They then compared the numbers year after year to calculate how quickly the population grew in each age range. The fastest-growing segment of society became the elderly. For example, in France in the 1920s, the fastest-growing group was 85-year-old women. By the 1990s, the fastest-growing group of French women had already reached 102 years of age. If this trend had continued, the fastest-growing group today could well have been 110-year-olds. Instead, growth has slowed and appears to have stalled.
Dr. Vij and his students examined data from 40 countries and discovered the same general trend. The scientists believed the reason was that humans had finally reached the upper limit of their lifespan.
With rare exceptions like Mrs. Kalman, humans don't live past 115. This "wall" is evident even among the longest-lived people on Earth. "When you look at the second supercentenarian, and then the third, fourth, and fifth, the trend is always the same," Dr. Vidge stated. In the researchers' graph, Mrs. Kalman is an anomaly. Vidge's team calculated the likelihood that anyone would outlive her, given current trends. The verdict: virtually no one.