"Review of TED Talks" 9/2/14

I watched the TED Talk “How to be 100+” by Dan Buettner.  In this talk, Buettner talks about a study he conducted that looked at four areas in the world where people live the longest.  He started out by talking about the Danish Twin Study, which establishes that ten percent of how long people live is dictated by genes and the other ninety percent is dictated by lifestyle.  People are not programmed for longevity but for procreative success (reproduction).  Also, there are no treatments that slow aging.  He says the older you are the faster you age.  Science says the capacity of the human body is 90 years, a little more for women, but the life expectancy for average Americans is 78 years.  The first study area Buettner talks about is Sardinia, where life expectancy for men is the highest.  Sardinia has many shepherds because the land is infertile, the people have a mostly plant based diet, and the older people are held in high regard in society.  For example, he says 100 year-old men ride their bikes to work and still chop wood for fires.  The next study area is Okinawa, where woman live the longest.  It is also where people live the longest disability free, average person lives 7 years longer than Americans, 5 times more centenarians, one-fifth the rate of breast and colon cancer, and one-sixth rate of cardiovascular disease.  Okinawa’s diet is plant based and 8 times more tofu than Americans, they have strategies for over-eating, and a 3000 year-old diet where they stop eating when they are 20% full.  When children are born there, that have at least 6 friends that stay with them throughout life and there is no such thing as retirement where they live.  These are just 2 of the 4 places looked at in this study.  What they all have in common are 3 things: move naturally, like walking; right outlooks, such as a purpose for life and eating wisely; and connection, society has everyone a support system where you are always taken care of.  While watching this video, it surprised me so many factors could affect the longevity of life.  Being healthy is not just eating right, but also an active lifestyle and a society that connects everyone, so that you are never alone.  This talk wakes me up to how I live and how my life is far from this.  How I live does not just affect me but the people around me, I have a very small influence on how they live their life.  This makes me think about what I could do to change my life.

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