Spain
Maintains Second Highest Life Expectancy in the World
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With the sun 320 days a year and the healthy life style its
no wonder the Spanish and its aging residents
live longer than Northern Europe
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In Japan the life expectancy is a slightly longer 83.4
years, but Spain is one of the healthiest nations in the world and offers the
best chance of living a long and healthy life.
The data from the OECD census says that Spain has over
100,000 people who are older than 100. News outlet Reuters sent out their
reporters to interview some of these people and find out how they live such
long and healthy lives.
Some of the answers were the usual ones of “laugh, love, andeat well in Spain”, and then there were more intriguing answers. 106-year old Pedro
Rodríguez swears that the secret to his longevity has been music as he has been
playing the piano every day since he first learned how when he was young.
112-year old Francisco Núñez lives with his 81-year-old
daughter at her home after shrugging off the local pensioners’ daycare;
complaining that it had too many old people. 101-year-old Gumersindo Cubo
suggests exploring his local woods as a child gave him the fortitude needed to
live past 100. He attributes his long life to the pine resin he would inhale in
the woods as a child, saying his mother would put a jar of it under his bed
when he was sick.
Comas points out that all the people he talked to had their
own strong support network of family and friends living by them, which is
likely another reason they were able to reach such an old age. The Spanish
approach of “family first”, which is also seen in Japan, is one of the main
reasons Spanish people lead such long lives. Loneliness can be a real killer in
the west but, as people grow older in Spain, their bonds only strengthen.
This, alongside the varied and healthy Mediterranean diet of
Spain are what keeps the people there in fighting fit shape. Of course the
welcoming climate and leisurely pace of life in the country also helps in
creating a society that enjoys rich, long lives.
