Centenarians: Cross national field studies to identify the secrets of their long life

The population is aging and the fastest growing group of older adults in the United States and the world are centenarians. This chapter reviews studies of centenarians in many regions of the world to find commonalities among this category of exceptionally long-lived individuals. Centenarians share many intersectional lifestyle characteristics that may contribute to their longevity. While it is difficult to prove causality for each lifestyle factor’s influence on centenarians’ extremely long life, many of the behaviors and social-environmental health determinants of centenarians can stand on their own as evidence-based complementary and alternative lifestyle practices. A growing body of evidence is showing that many of the same health behaviors of centenarians reduce the stress response, decrease incidence of chronic disease and contribute to longevity. Health care professionals can learn about the aging process and lifestyle factors that may contribute to longevity by studying centenarians