Long shall they live! About the lifestyle of the centenarians from Okinawa and elderly in the Netherlands.
How do we become old with minimal health problems? In this paper I research the lifestyle of centenarians of the island Okinawa who have attained this goal and the lifestyle of the Dutch elderly. Whether you grow old is 25% dependent on your genes. The other 75% depends on your lifestyle. In this paper, I’ll focus on this part. Okinawa is a blue zone, a region in which the percentage of centenarians is higher than in the rest of the world. Critical aspects from the lifestyle of the centenarians are: having social interactions, having a positive attitude towards life, consuming mostly plant food and soy products, maintaining an herbal garden, getting plenty of vitamin D through sunlight, exercising frequently and having a positive life goal as a source of life force. The maximum achievable age of Dutch people is increasing. Okinawan centenarians are fit and healthy whereas Dutch elderly often aren’t. In order to learn how Dutch elderly have succeeded in growing this old I have interviewed Dutch elderly. From the results, I was able to identify similarities and differences/improvements between the different lifestyles of Dutch elderly and Okinawan centenarians. I have found the following similarities: both parties enjoy lots of social interaction and experience very little stress, both parties are religious and they also have an optimistic attitude towards life, they consume up to 80% instead of filling their stomachs entirely, they base their diet on vegetables and they drink tea on a daily basis, they don’t smoke, they don’t drink and they have exercised frequently during their lifetime. I have found the following improvements to come of age in a more healthy way: decreasing meat consumption, going outside on a daily basis and exercising at least half an hour on a daily basis. Finally, I have researched the facts concerning the literature research and I have researched the influence of Americanization and modernization on the lifestyle of the new generation of Okinawa. This research showed that centenarians are indeed very involved in society. This also showed that the influence of the Americanization and modernization on the new generation in Okinawa is very little due to the fact that this generation still relies on the guidelines of the lifestyles of their centenarians. In this paper you will find in depth reviews of all aspects of the lifestyles of the centenarians of Okinawa. Besides reliable information, you will find the knowledge and necessities to improve your own lifestyle.
Hannah Ypma