China and 'Table E'

[Randy W]

There ARE no entries from China in Table E of the Gerontology Research Group, "record keepers for the world’s supercentenarians, or persons older than 110."

 

Keeping Track of the Oldest People in the World

The Gerontology Research Group catalogues on all of the world's confirmed supercentenarians, or persons over 110 years old

 

Since 1990, the Gerontology Research Group has assumed the role of record keepers for the world’s supercentenarians, or persons older than 110. . . . . “I thought, this ought to be available online, so everyone can know about it,” Coles says.

 

To fill this need, around 15 years ago Coles and his colleagues began publishing their database online. Most attention falls on one list in particular, which they call “Table E.” Neatly filed in chronological order, Table E contains all of the world’s confirmed, still-living supercentenarians.

 

. . .

 

These problems are well known among those who study the very old. “Ninety-eight percent of ages claimed over 115 are false,” . . .

 

Sometimes, the motivation for lying is monetary. In the U.S., for example, a handful of people inflated their ages in order to claim to be Civil War veterans, giving them access to pensions. Countries and local officials, too, might boast a surplus of centenarians to propagate a “Shangri-La” myth about a particular town or region in an effort to attract tourist dollars. China and Dominica are notorious for this, Perls says. Still others might inflate their ages to validate religious beliefs and recruit followers, such as some swamis from India who say they are 200-plus years old.

 

. . .

 

Similarly, China certainly has many supercentenarians, but none are confirmed because the Chinese government did not track births prior to the early 1900s.

 

 

 

Bama is about 2 hours to the north-northwest of Nanning

 

The Chinese village with the secret to long life

 

Yang Ze, deputy director of the Institute of Geriatrics at Beijing hospital, began researching Bama's secret in the mid-90s. One key, he said, is natural selection. The area is remote and mountainous. In the old days, it took three days to leave the hills, so there was relatively little mixing with the outside world. In tough conditions, without medical treatment, the strong genes remained; the weak were eliminated.

 

In particular, he said, Bama residents have mostly inherited a gene from both parents that helps the body to produce a protein called apolipoprotein-E. That combines with fats to form a lipoprotein that reduces excess cholesterol.

 

Lifestyle played a part, too. People worked hard in the fields. Much of their food was steamed, not fried. When Yang first arrived, they ate "rice porridge with a bit of salt, and hemp oil", and seldom consumed meat. Old people were surrounded by relatives. "They were not lonely and were happy. They were calm, had fewer desires, did not compete, and were more optimistic," Yang said.

 

Now the area's new-found popularity is destroying its very attractions. "The new residents bring a Beijing lifestyle to Bama. They shout in the mountains; they turn up the music to do exercise in the morning," he added.

 

Hammers and drills disturb the once-tranquil scene thanks to the soaring demand for rented property. Cars clog the narrow streets, pumping out fumes. Residents complain the river is polluted because visitors dump rubbish and because the sewage systems cannot cope with so many people. These days, the young prosper by selling goods to tourists rather than by labouring. And the eldest can sit at home, on a couch, and wait for red envelopes.

 

As the area has grown wealthier and less isolated, it has also grown less healthy. Bama is a microcosm of China: its burst of development made its shift from diseases of poverty to those of affluence even more pronounced.

 

[dnoblett]

I saw this one the other day...

 

 

 

Indian Man Claims He’s 179 Years Old

 

http://worldnewsdailyreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/oldman-460x307.png

 

Vârânasî| A retired cobbler from northern India, Mahashta Mûrasi, claims he was born in January 1835, making him not only the oldest man on earth, but the oldest to have ever lived, according to the Guiness World Records.

 

According to indian officials, the man was born at home in the city of Bangalore on January 6th 1835, and is recorded to have lived in Vârânasî since 1903. He worked as a cobbler in the city until 1957, when he retired at the already venerable age of 122.

 

“I have been alive so long, that my great grand-children have been dead for years” explains Mr Mûrasi. “Somehow death forgot about me… And now there’s hardly any hope left. Look at the statistics, nobody dies past 150, even less at 170. At that point, I guess I’m immortal or something. I might as well enjoy it!”

 

The man’s birth certificate and identity cards all seem to confirm his version, but unfortunately no medical examination can confirm his saying for now. The last doctor Mister Mûrasi visited died in 1971, so there is little information available about his previous medical files.

 

See more at: http://worldnewsdailyreport.com/indian-man-claims-hes-179-years-old/#sthash.V4KAAg1W.dpuf

[Randy W]

I saw this one the other day...

 

 

 

Indian Man Claims He’s 179 Years Old

 

 

 

Vârânasî| A retired cobbler from northern India, Mahashta Mûrasi, claims he was born in January 1835, making him not only the oldest man on earth, but the oldest to have ever lived, according to the Guiness World Records.

 

According to indian officials, the man was born at home in the city of Bangalore on January 6th 1835, and is recorded to have lived in Vârânasî since 1903. He worked as a cobbler in the city until 1957, when he retired at the already venerable age of 122.

 

“I have been alive so long, that my great grand-children have been dead for years” explains Mr Mûrasi. “Somehow death forgot about me… And now there’s hardly any hope left. Look at the statistics, nobody dies past 150, even less at 170. At that point, I guess I’m immortal or something. I might as well enjoy it!”

 

The man’s birth certificate and identity cards all seem to confirm his version, but unfortunately no medical examination can confirm his saying for now. The last doctor Mister Mûrasi visited died in 1971, so there is little information available about his previous medical files.

 

See more at: http://worldnewsdailyreport.com/indian-man-claims-hes-179-years-old/#sthash.V4KAAg1W.dpuf

 

 

He's mentioned in the Smithsonianmag article

 

When it comes to age forgery, Coles has seen it all. He recently received a claim from India of an individual who is supposedly 179—a feat that is almost certainly physically impossible. The deceit can be harder to spot, such as the time a man in Turkey tried to pass himself off as his deceased brother, who was ten years older. And in one particularly challenging case, the government of Bolivia issued false documents to a man who was 106, stating that he was 112.