Women and Aging

How long do you picture yourself living?  How many of us desire to live to see our 100 th birthday?  For years I thought I would like to see my grand children graduate college, start families, share their lives with me a bit.  Now, at the age of 60, I have two great grand children and I have a few thought about wanting to stick around a little longer; maybe.

Now, for me, I hope to live as long as I can with reasonable health and independence.

I am impressed with women like Luo Meizhe, who is close to becoming the longest live person on record.   She is proof that the simple life might just be the answer to a long and healthy life.

 Here's a bit of info about Luo from Xiamen News -

China issued its latest list of the 10 longest-living people Saturday, topped by a woman from Southwest China believed to be the oldest on the mainland. She just celebrated her 125th birthday.

The list was released in honor of Chongyang Festival, also known as Seniors' Day.

There are now more than 43,000 people in China who are 100 years or older, according to a recent survey.

This moves the nation into second place in the number of centenarians worldwide, with the United States coming in first and Japan now third.

China's oldest woman Luo Meizhen of the Yao ethnic group, was born in 1885 at Bama county of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

She is illiterate and has led a simple life as a housewife.

"I almost forget how long I've been living and for me, tolerance is the key to longevity," she said in a phone interview.

The 10 oldest have an average age of 117. They include six women, and come from the provinces and autonomous regions like Hainan and Xinjiang, from five different ethnic groups, according to the China Gerontological Society.

The society made the list based on surveys and the population census. It's the second time the society has released such a list.

"The number of centenarians has kept rising in China given the economic development and improved quality of life and healthcare," said Li Bengong, the society's director.

Ten centenarian couples were also honored. China has counted 43,708 people aged 100 or older, up 8 percent over 2009, official statistics showed. Most of them live in Southwest China.

Worldwide, the US holds the largest centenarian population, estimated at 96,548 as of 2009, according to the International Association of Gerontology. Japan now ranks third, with 40,449 as of a September tally.

Starting in 2007, the China Gerontological Society has identified nine "longevity cities," including Yongfu and Dongxing in Guangxi, Pengshan and Dujiangyan of Sichuan, and Sanshui in Guangdong.

In each of these places, there are at least seven centenarians per 100,000 locals, more than twice the national average.

As the average life span of the Chinese has more than doubled from only 35 years in 1949 when the People's Republic of China was founded, the number of centenarians has increased by more than 10 times over the same period of time, statistics showed.

In China's 1953 national census, 3,384 centenarians were identified.

Medical science attributes increasing longevity to a combination of body exercise, genetics and improved diet.

"Active centenarians are role models for the future of aging," said professor Wu Cangping with the Population Development Research Center of Renmin University of China.

He also urged improved care for the aged as China is challenged to cope with a fast-growing population of elderly people.

The Office of the China National Committee on Aging said the number of people aged 60 or above stood at 167 million in 2009, or 12.5 percent of the 1.3 billion population.

 The below chart show information about a number of humans to live to ripe ole' ages.  What is most interesting to me is the comparison of men to women and more than anything, the countries they live in.  

NAME                              SEX      RECORDED      AGE AS OF       RESIDENCE    LAST REPORT
                                                       BIRTHDATE      5-7-2013                                       DATE

José Coelho de Souza	M	10 March 1884	129 years, 58 days	Brazil	4 May 2012
Luo Meizhen	F	9 July 1885	127 years, 302 days	China	28 December 2012
Alimihan Seyiti	F	25 June 1886	126 years, 338 days	China	17 July 2011
Leandra Becerra Lumbreras	F	31 August 1887	125 years, 249 days	Mexico	31 August 2011
Pedra Bento	F	29 June 1889	123 years, 312 days	Brazil	24 October 2011
Maria Lucimar Pereira	F	3 September 1890	122 years, 246 days	Brazil	3 September 2011
Guo Fangji	F	11 January 1891	122 years, 116 days	China	27 July 2011
Abbas Koca	M	1 July 1891	121 years, 310 days	Turkey	2 July 2011
Guan Shi	F	11 October 1892	120 years, 208 days	China	12 October 2012
Tian Longyu	F	28 April 1893	120 years, 9 days	China	14 October 2012
Da Lanwan	F	3 May 1893	120 years,  4 days	China	10 September 2012
Nguyễn Thị Trù	F	4 May 1893	120 years,  3 days	Vietnam	15 November 2011
Augusto Guilherme da Cunha	M	15 May 1893	119 years, 357 days	Brazil	15 August 2011
Doralina Borba	F	22 January 1894	119 years, 105 days	Brazil	31 January 2012
Maria Mikhailovna Shikut	F	1 July 1894	118 years, 310 days	Belarus	May 2011
Ángel María Peña Mario	M	18 September 1894	118 years, 231 days	Dominican Republic	28 November 2011
Kesi Karuyeva	F	5 January 1895	118 years, 122 days	Russia	4 October 2011
Áurea de Souza e Silva	F	6 September 1895	117 years, 243 days	Brazil	20 May 2011
Aizimujiang Aimaiti	M	2 October 1895	117 years, 217 days	China	9 October 2011
Jesuina dos Santos Cardoso	F	30 January 1896	117 years, 97 days	Brazil	21 September 2011
Juvelino Gonçalves	M	30 May 1896	116 years, 342 days	Brazil	16 September 2011
Helena J	F	9 June 1896	116 years, 332 days	Poland	25 June 2011
Nargiz Musayeva	F	1 July 1896	116 years, 310 days	Russia	27 September 2011
Celino Villanueva Jaramillo	M	25 July 1896	116 years, 286 days	Chile	29 December 2011
Luang Pu Supha	M	17 September 1896	116 years, 232 days	Thailand	17 September 2011
Emilia Torrez	F	1 October 1896	116 years, 218 days	Argentina	11 Oct 2012
Huo Liming	F	16 January 1897	116 years, 111 days	China	28 September 2011
Kateryna Kozak	F	14 February 1897	116 years, 82 days	Ukraine	24 February 2012
Fu Jiangshi	F	2 April 1897	116 years, 35 days	China	22 October 2012
Fu Suqing	F	19 July 1897	115 years, 292 days	China	12 January 2012
Li Zhaogui	F	3 October 1897	115 years, 216 days	China	21 August 2011
Yang Mingyun	F	30 November 1897	115 years, 158 days	China	18 October 2012
He Erxiu	F	16 January 1898	115 years, 111 days	China	15 September 2011
Maria Rita dos Praz(er)es	F	3 February 1898	115 years, 93 days	Brazil	21 September 2011
Huang Xu Ping	M	12 March 1898	115 years, 56 days	China	31 July 2012
María Juana Martínez]	F	7 May 1898	115 years, 0 days	Argentina	14 May 2012
Deolinda Soares Rodrigues	F	24 June 1898	114 years, 317 days	Brazil	24 June 2011
Gertrude Weaver	F	4 July 1898	114 years, 307 days	United States	9 January 2012
Huang Zhenlin	M	8 August 1898	114 years, 272 days	China	24 October 2011
Yu Chunjiao	F	8 September 1898	114 years, 241 days	China	29 September 2011
Andrew Hatch	M	7 October 1898	114 years, 212 days	United States	7 October 2011
Marco Atehortúa Daza	M	31 December 1898	114 years, 127 days	Colombia	31 December 2012
Li Suqing]	F	14 January 1899	114 years, 113 days	China	15 October 2012
Maria Valdomira dos Santos Souza	F	18 February 1899	114 years, 78 days	Brazil	29 February 2012
Violette Brown	F	15 March 1900	113 years, 53 days	Jamaica	29 March 2013