HONOLULU &endash; Okinawans have the highest per capita population of centenarians and “the longest disability-free life expectancy on the planet” with recent studies uncovering why and offering benefits for all, says a Honolulu researcher, who has been studying this phenomenon for more than a decade.
While genetics may play a role, “the fact that there are so many of them, diet and lifestyle have played a strong role in the longevity phenomenon,” said Dr. Bradley Willcox, a physician-investigator in geriatrics at the Pacific Health Research Institute and an assistant professor at the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii.
Okinawans have a life expectancy of 81.2 years, compared to the Japanese, who were second at 79.9 years, according to World Health Organization and Japan Ministry of Health and Welfare data in 1996. Americans were down the list at 18th at 76.8 years.
As for centenarians, Okinawa had 40 per 100,000; Japan had 20 per 100,000 and the United States, 10 per 100,000, said Willcox, who has become somewhat of a celebrity having appeared on “Oprah” and CNN and in a “Time” magazine cover story on centenarians.
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