India can learn a lot about long life by studying people who live to be 100 years
or more. These very elderly people can teach us important lessons about health,
lifestyle, food habits, social support, and how they take care of themselves.
Many rich countries invest heavily in research to understand why some people
live so long. But countries like India, which have large populations, are
still far behind in this type of research. India has a lot of traditional
knowledge about long life, but there are still big gaps in research and
good-quality data. These gaps make it difficult to truly understand the
secrets of longevity.
A new study using information from the Longitudinal Ageing Study of India
(LASI) gives some useful insights into the health and well-being of India’s
centenarians.