Today, there are three times as many centenarians living in Norway as 20 years ago. Part of the reason for this is that Norwegians have become better at taking care of their health.
“We have changed how we do things in everyday life,” health director Bjørn Guldvog in the Norwegian Directorate of Health told P4 news.
According to figures from Statistics Norway (SSB), there are currently 1,309 people aged 100 or older living in Norway. That is 857 more than in 2002.
Guldvog believes that part of the reason for this is that Norwegians have become better at taking care of their health. At the same time, the number of older people is increasing. In 2012 there were 736 centenarians, in 2017, it had increased to 945.
Multiple factors
“It’s about what we eat, it’s about us not smoking as much as before, it’s about physical activity,” he said.
When looking at gender, it is the women who live the longest. Of the centenarians today, 1,080 are women and 229 men.
“We do not really know why these differences exist. But we do see a difference in the incidence of disease in the different groups. Both when it comes to cancer and cardiovascular disease, it affects men to a greater extent than women at an early age,” Guldvog added.
Still, he believes it’s mostly related to lifestyle.
“Genetics play a big role, but so do other factors: what you eat throughout your life, that you do not smoke, that you are physically active, and that you consume alcohol moderately. If you are good at these things, you will likely have a longer life,” Guldvog concluded.
Source : © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayTravel
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