The secret of longevity of Japanese people

Japan has never become the world's No. 1 economy, however, one thing that the cherry blossoms boast can outperform all countries: that is the life expectancy of the people.

Since 1947, the Japanese Ministry of Health began recording the data on the life expectancy of the people of this country. According to the report of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2004, Japanese people are the longest-lived people in the world with an average life expectancy of 81.9 years.

And when Japanese society is aging rapidly, it is not difficult to find people who can testify to Japan's champion position in life: More than a fifth of the 126 million Japanese people live until 65 age or older. Among these people, astonishing is more than 1 million people at the age of 90 or more. As for the entire population of Japan, 14.09 people live for 10,000 people living to hundred years old.

Mrs. Yone Minagawa celebrates her 114th birthday (Photo: BBC)

Earlier this year, 114-year-old Yone Minagawa, the oldest person in Japan, was recognized as the oldest person in the world.

Not only that, Japan's 'Healthy Life' - a WHO index used to measure the number of years that people are able to meet daily needs such as eating, wearing and going to the toilet (for short) HALE) - also topped the global rankings with an average of 75 years.

Low-fat diet

So what is the secret of Japanese people? Or is that secret in the gene?'That's not the case', which is the affirmation of Ichiro Tsuji, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine professor. GS. Tsuji studied aging and participated in a 1998 national survey of people aged 80-85 years.

According to Mr. Tsuji, before the war, Japanese people lived much shorter than Westerners. But in just the last 20 years, they have become the longest living people in the world.

GS. Tsuji thinks that Japanese people's longevity is due to a healthy, low-fat diet that is typical of Japan. This makes the rate of heart attacks and stroke in Japan much lower than in other countries. GS. Tsuji also mentioned that the popular public health insurance system in Japan allowed everyone to get health care at a relatively cheap cost, and then the sewage drainage system improved after the war. brings a lot of benefits.

GS. Tsuji said that when going into a more specific investigation, it was found that elderly elderly grandparents often had the following "12 habits" :

Globally, the long-life water after Japan is Monaco (on average, people live until 81.2 years of age, with a healthy life of 72.9 years).

Next is San Marino with an average life expectancy of 80.6 years and 73.4 years of healthy life.

In Australia, on average, people live until the age of 80.4 years, the number of healthy years is 72.6.

The average life expectancy of the French people is 79.8 years old (ranked 25th) with a healthy life of 70.6 years.

The average life expectancy of Americans is 77.3 years old (ranked 27th) with 69.3 years of healthy life.

* Eat three meals a day at constant times.
* Chew food carefully.
* Eat lots of fiber from vegetables and fruits.
* Drink tea regularly.
* No smoking.
* There is a home doctor.
* Independence.
* Participate in activities that help change your mood.
* Read the paper.
* Watch television.
* Regularly go out.
* Wake up and get up at constant hours.

 

However, GS. Tsuji also warned that the future of life in Japan is not bright. In fact, the 2005 statistics released by the Japanese Ministry of Health show that Japanese women still have the highest life expectancy in the world but the life expectancy of men in this country is only ranked fourth in the world. . For the first time in 32 years, the land of the rising sun is no longer among the top 3 countries in the world in terms of men's life expectancy. For both sexes, the life expectancy of Japanese people decreased for the first time in the last 6 years.

Social change: The factor affecting health

GS. Tsuji pointed out that the number of smokers increased sharply in the postwar period and the eating habits changed dramatically when Japanese people ate more than high-fat foods like meat. Today, more than half of Japanese men smoke - the highest level in developed countries, twice the rate in the US.

However, perhaps the biggest change in society affecting the health prospects of Japanese people is the disappearance of community networks. With the trend of moving from multi-generational families to nuclear families (families with only parents and children), the elderly are increasingly deprived of the sense of security and protection.

As a result, although there are no official statistics, there are still many old people who are killed by 'loneliness' in their homes, especially in cities. Yone Minagawa's policy also held her 114th birthday on January 4, 2007 at a nursing home in Fukuchi Town (Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan).

In addition, GS. Tsuji also emphasized that Japan's long-standing cultural tradition is to respect the "rapidly dying" old people. He said that if this keeps up, Japanese people may not continue to occupy the highest average life expectancy in the world in the future.

TRADE VU General