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There are already many, many people who have passed the landmark age of 100. In fact, there are now so many healthy, elderly people that there's a new term for them: the wellderly. These are people over the age of 80 who have no diseases such as high blood pressure, heart disease or diabetes and have never taken medicines for these conditions.There have been many scientific studies of communities where a healthy old age is typical. These include places like Calabria in southern Italy and the island of Okinawa in Japan.

The small village of Molochio in Calabria has about 2,000 inhabitants. And of these, there are at least eight centenarians. When researchers ask people like this the secret of their long life, the answer is almost always to do with diet and is almost always the same: ‘I eat a lot of fruit and vegetables.' ‘A little bit, but of everything.' ‘No smoking, no drinking.'

While in the past scientists have looked at things such as diet and lifestyle for an explanation of long life, these days they are investigating genetics.The new research into long life looks at groups of people who have a genetic connection. For example, one group of interest lives in Ecuador. In one area of the country there are a number of people with the same genetic condition. It's called Laron syndrome. The condition means that they don't grow to more than about one metre, but it also seems to give them protection against cancer and diabetes. As a result, they live longer than other people in their families. Meanwhile, on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, there's another group of long-lived men, Japanese-Americans. They have a similar gene to the Laron syndrome group.

Back in Calabria, scientists are trying to work out exactly how much of the longevity is due to genetics and how much to the environment. By checking public records going back to the 19th century, researchers have reconstructed the family trees of 202 nonagenarians and centenarians. They concluded that there were genetic factors involved.

So what really makes people live longer? It seems likely that it is an interaction of genes, the environment and probably a third factor – luck.

There are already many, many people who have passed the landmark age of 100. In fact, there are now so many healthy, elderly people that there's a new term for them: the wellderly. These are people over the age of 80 who have no diseases such as high blood pressure, heart disease or diabetes and have never taken medicines for these conditions.There have been many scientific studies of communities where a healthy old age is typical. These include places like Calabria in southern Italy and the island of Okinawa in Japan.

The small village of Molochio in Calabria has about 2,000 inhabitants. And of these, there are at least eight centenarians. When researchers ask people like this the secret of their long life, the answer is almost always to do with diet and is almost always the same: ‘I eat a lot of fruit and vegetables.' ‘A little bit, but of everything.' ‘No smoking, no drinking.'

While in the past scientists have looked at things such as diet and lifestyle for an explanation of long life, these days they are investigating genetics.The new research into long life looks at groups of people who have a genetic connection. For example, one group of interest lives in Ecuador. In one area of the country there are a number of people with the same genetic condition. It's called Laron syndrome. The condition means that they don't grow to more than about one metre, but it also seems to give them protection against cancer and diabetes. As a result, they live longer than other people in their families. Meanwhile, on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, there's another group of long-lived men, Japanese-Americans. They have a similar gene to the Laron syndrome group.

Back in Calabria, scientists are trying to work out exactly how much of the longevity is due to genetics and how much to the environment. By checking public records going back to the 19th century, researchers have reconstructed the family trees of 202 nonagenarians and centenarians. They concluded that there were genetic factors involved.

So what really makes people live longer? It seems likely that it is an interaction of genes, the environment and probably a third factor – luck.

There are already many, many people who have passed the landmark age of 100. In fact, there are now so many healthy, elderly people that there's a new term for them: the wellderly. These are people over the age of 80 who have no diseases such as high blood pressure, heart disease or diabetes and have never taken medicines for these conditions.There have been many scientific studies of communities where a healthy old age is typical. These include places like Calabria in southern Italy and the island of Okinawa in Japan.

The small village of Molochio in Calabria has about 2,000 inhabitants. And of these, there are at least eight centenarians. When researchers ask people like this the secret of their long life, the answer is almost always to do with diet and is almost always the same: ‘I eat a lot of fruit and vegetables.' ‘A little bit, but of everything.' ‘No smoking, no drinking.'

While in the past scientists have looked at things such as diet and lifestyle for an explanation of long life, these days they are investigating genetics.The new research into long life looks at groups of people who have a genetic connection. For example, one group of interest lives in Ecuador. In one area of the country there are a number of people with the same genetic condition. It's called Laron syndrome. The condition means that they don't grow to more than about one metre, but it also seems to give them protection against cancer and diabetes. As a result, they live longer than other people in their families. Meanwhile, on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, there's another group of long-lived men, Japanese-Americans. They have a similar gene to the Laron syndrome group.

Back in Calabria, scientists are trying to work out exactly how much of the longevity is due to genetics and how much to the environment. By checking public records going back to the 19th century, researchers have reconstructed the family trees of 202 nonagenarians and centenarians. They concluded that there were genetic factors involved.

So what really makes people live longer? It seems likely that it is an interaction of genes, the environment and probably a third factor – luck.

There are already many, many people who have passed the landmark age of 100. In fact, there are now so many healthy, elderly people that there's a new term for them: the wellderly. These are people over the age of 80 who have no diseases such as high blood pressure, heart disease or diabetes and have never taken medicines for these conditions.There have been many scientific studies of communities where a healthy old age is typical. These include places like Calabria in southern Italy and the island of Okinawa in Japan.

The small village of Molochio in Calabria has about 2,000 inhabitants. And of these, there are at least eight centenarians. When researchers ask people like this the secret of their long life, the answer is almost always to do with diet and is almost always the same: ‘I eat a lot of fruit and vegetables.' ‘A little bit, but of everything.' ‘No smoking, no drinking.'

While in the past scientists have looked at things such as diet and lifestyle for an explanation of long life, these days they are investigating genetics.The new research into long life looks at groups of people who have a genetic connection. For example, one group of interest lives in Ecuador. In one area of the country there are a number of people with the same genetic condition. It's called Laron syndrome. The condition means that they don't grow to more than about one metre, but it also seems to give them protection against cancer and diabetes. As a result, they live longer than other people in their families. Meanwhile, on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, there's another group of long-lived men, Japanese-Americans. They have a similar gene to the Laron syndrome group.

Back in Calabria, scientists are trying to work out exactly how much of the longevity is due to genetics and how much to the environment. By checking public records going back to the 19th century, researchers have reconstructed the family trees of 202 nonagenarians and centenarians. They concluded that there were genetic factors involved.

So what really makes people live longer? It seems likely that it is an interaction of genes, the environment and probably a third factor – luck.

There are already many, many people who have passed the landmark age of 100. In fact, there are now so many healthy, elderly people that there's a new term for them: the wellderly. These are people over the age of 80 who have no diseases such as high blood pressure, heart disease or diabetes and have never taken medicines for these conditions.There have been many scientific studies of communities where a healthy old age is typical. These include places like Calabria in southern Italy and the island of Okinawa in Japan.

The small village of Molochio in Calabria has about 2,000 inhabitants. And of these, there are at least eight centenarians. When researchers ask people like this the secret of their long life, the answer is almost always to do with diet and is almost always the same: ‘I eat a lot of fruit and vegetables.' ‘A little bit, but of everything.' ‘No smoking, no drinking.'

While in the past scientists have looked at things such as diet and lifestyle for an explanation of long life, these days they are investigating genetics.The new research into long life looks at groups of people who have a genetic connection. For example, one group of interest lives in Ecuador. In one area of the country there are a number of people with the same genetic condition. It's called Laron syndrome. The condition means that they don't grow to more than about one metre, but it also seems to give them protection against cancer and diabetes. As a result, they live longer than other people in their families. Meanwhile, on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, there's another group of long-lived men, Japanese-Americans. They have a similar gene to the Laron syndrome group.

Back in Calabria, scientists are trying to work out exactly how much of the longevity is due to genetics and how much to the environment. By checking public records going back to the 19th century, researchers have reconstructed the family trees of 202 nonagenarians and centenarians. They concluded that there were genetic factors involved.

So what really makes people live longer? It seems likely that it is an interaction of genes, the environment and probably a third factor – luck.

A calorie is a unit for measuring the amount of energy food will produce. The average person needs about 1,800 calories per day to stay healthy. Without energy, the heart cannot pump blood through blood vessels, and the organs cannot function.

You gain weight because you consume more calories a day than your body requires. The only way to lose weight is to reduce the number of calories you consume. This is the basic principle behind most diets.

Unfortunately, diets don't work for most people. It's not that they don't lose weight: they do, but when they go off the diet, the kilos creep back. The key to losing weight and maintaining a weight loss is a sensible diet and exercise plan. It would help if you worked out how to eat fewer calories than you actually consume. It would help if you also exercised each day so you can use up calories. Burning 250 or 500 calories per day can make a big difference.

A calorie is a unit for measuring the amount of energy food will produce. The average person needs about 1,800 calories per day to stay healthy. Without energy, the heart cannot pump blood through blood vessels, and the organs cannot function.

You gain weight because you consume more calories a day than your body requires. The only way to lose weight is to reduce the number of calories you consume. This is the basic principle behind most diets.

Unfortunately, diets don't work for most people. It's not that they don't lose weight: they do, but when they go off the diet, the kilos creep back. The key to losing weight and maintaining a weight loss is a sensible diet and exercise plan. It would help if you worked out how to eat fewer calories than you actually consume. It would help if you also exercised each day so you can use up calories. Burning 250 or 500 calories per day can make a big difference.

A calorie is a unit for measuring the amount of energy food will produce. The average person needs about 1,800 calories per day to stay healthy. Without energy, the heart cannot pump blood through blood vessels, and the organs cannot function.

You gain weight because you consume more calories a day than your body requires. The only way to lose weight is to reduce the number of calories you consume. This is the basic principle behind most diets.

Unfortunately, diets don't work for most people. It's not that they don't lose weight: they do, but when they go off the diet, the kilos creep back. The key to losing weight and maintaining a weight loss is a sensible diet and exercise plan. It would help if you worked out how to eat fewer calories than you actually consume. It would help if you also exercised each day so you can use up calories. Burning 250 or 500 calories per day can make a big difference.