Education, Socioeconomic Factors
Tellingly, researchers also saw that higher educational attainment and socioeconomic status directly influenced who consumed a healthier diet. When comparing the centenarian offspring with a high school education to those who were not the offspring of a long-lived parent but also had only a high school education, a significant difference in diet quality was observed. This gap nearly disappeared when comparing centenarian offspring to non-centenarian offspring when those in both groups had graduate degrees, suggesting that higher socioeconomic status and education leveled the nutritional playing field.
“I think it’s important to realize that while genetics is estimated to have an influence on longevity, a host of environmental factors together have a far greater influence,” says Zhao. “It isn’t just one food, and it isn’t just nutrition and ‘eating healthy’ alone that will help someone reach that 100-year-old milestone. It’s a variety of environmental and genetic factors that we are just beginning to tease out.”
“When it comes specifically to nutrition, this study shows that we need to do more to help people at all education and socioeconomic levels eat more whole grains, and incorporate more beans, tofu, and other legumes in their diet,” says study co-author Andres V. Ardisson Korat, a scientist at the HNRCA and research assistant professor at Tufts School of Medicine.
In some cases, certain healthier foods may not be part of a person’s nutritional culture. “We also need to find ways to make it more affordable and convenient for people to eat more fruits and vegetables, fish, and other healthier foods. That’s important whether a person hopes to live to 100 like their parent did, or they aspire to live longer than a parent who died at 75 or 80,” Ardisson Korat adds.
“Our goal is not simply finding ways to help people live longer but helping them find ways to be healthier as they age,” says Sebastiani.
