Octavian Curpas
Scientists have long been baffled as to why some people live so much longer than others. There are over 76,000 Americans who hold the distinction of being centenarians, a group now believed to be the fastest growing group of Americans. Some of them are well known because of their celebrity. Others are ordinary people who have lived extraordinarily long lives. Each of them is a page of history.
Almost two years ago, I wrote an article about Gheorghe Onita, the oldest gentleman from the Romanian community in Arizona. He passed away shortly after he turned 100. I remember myself doing a lot of research on the topic of longevity at that time. Mr. Onita held the record as the oldest Romanian here in Arizona.
Now at 115 years old, Edna Parker of Shelbyville, , holds the as the world’s oldest living person. Fifteen years older than our conational. Parker turned 115 on Sunday, April 20, 2008. Edna was born on April 20, 1893. Her husband, Earl, died in 1938 and Parker lived alone in their farmhouse until 1993. She then moved in with her son’s family, and when they found that she was in need of more care, she moved into a convalescent home.
Maybe it was a lifetime of chores on the family farm that accounts for Edna Parker’s long life. Or maybe just good genes explain why the world’s oldest known person that turned 115 on last Sunday, defying staggering odds. Scientists who study longevity hope Parker and others who live to 110 or beyond they’re called super centenarians can help solve the mystery of extreme longevity. Scientists from the at collected samples of to add to the database of super centenarians. Her genes, along with about 100 other people who lived over 110 years, will be analyzed by aging specialists. They are looking for longevity enabling genes. Social factors largely explain differences in life expectancies both between countries and between different groups of population in each country. Convincing evidence shows that, individual lifestyles, social networks, styles of relating to life, and in particular, social class, are major determinants of the life-span. Does this principle apply to anybody? Let’s take a look at my subject centenarians. From at least one perspective, there is a difference between the two. Edna Parker was born in the United States and has lived in a free country all her life. On the other hand, Gheorghe Onita went through two world wars, three dictatorships, three social orders. He served seven years in the Romanian army. He endured so much hunger and thirst in the wars and the life he lived was generally not very easy. He came to United States when he was 80. At that time, most of his fellows could be seen just in the memories. Moreover, at that age, he didn’t come here to die but to live healthy for other two decades. Even after he turned 100, he was able to read the Bible without glasses…
Last Friday, Edna Parker laughed and smiled as relative and guests released 115 balloons into sunny skies outside her nursing home. “We don’t know why she’s lived so long,” said Don Parker, her 59-year-old grandson. “But she’s never been a worrier and she’s always been a thin person, so maybe that has something to do with it.”
Like Gheorghe Onita, Edna Parker never drank alcohol or tried tobacco and led an active life. It lessens feelings of depression that might otherwise lower immunity and boost heart disease risk
In conclusion, what could be the real reason for increased longevity? That’s a question the experts have been eager to find an answer to.
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