Optimistic and regular life cited as key to longevity

Elderly people hold a rally calling for better welfare. [Yonhap News Photo]

Lead a regular daily life, eat little and stay optimistic. That's the secret of longevity cited in a South Korean government survey of centenarians.

As of November last year, the number of people aged 100 and older has increased rapidly to 3,159 from 961 ten years ago and 1,835 in 2010, representing a dramatic demographic change in South Korea, one of the world's fastest-ageing societies, according to a population census report released this week by Statistics Korea. Women accounted for 86.5 percent.

For their long life, 39.4 percent of the centenarians said they did not each much. Another 18.8 percent mentioned a regular life sleeping and exercising regularly while 14.4 percent said they've always tried to stay optimistic. More than 70 percent said they've stayed away from smoking or drinking.

The survey found that 13.1 percent of the total population in 2015 were more than 65 years old, compared to 2.9 percent in 1960. South Korea has one of the lowest fertility rates, at 1.2, out of all the nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. its population is expected to declined after peaking at around 52 million in 2030.

A rapidly ageing society has caused various social problems. The centenarians staying at nursing homes rose to 43.1 percent last year from 19.2 percent in 2010. Nearly 40 percent suffered from Alzheimer's.

Aju News Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com

Park Sae-jin swatchsjp@ajunews.com

Optimistic and regular life cited as key to longevity

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