What did the study find?<\/p>\n
Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine<\/a>, Boston University, and Tufts Medical Center analysed data from three long-running studies. A total of 2,319 centenarians\u2019 offspring were compared with 2,703 controls (the offspring of people who lived to age 85 or younger).<\/p>\n Compared with people whose parents had shorter lifespans, centenarians\u2019 offspring had a 42% lower risk of early death, the study found. They also had a 33% lower risk of cardiovascular disease, and a 32% lower risk of high blood pressure.<\/p>\n Having a centenarian parent didn\u2019t seem to affect cancer or stroke risk, however. <\/p>\n Daniel Lozano Gonzalez via Getty Images<\/p>\n The offspring of centenarians tend to live longer, too.<\/p>\n \u201cThe overall consistency of these findings across these quite different studies was especially noteworthy and reinforces the idea that exceptional longevity runs in families,\u201d said Eric Reed, <\/a>a staff scientist in medicine<\/a> and lead author of the study.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not to say that lifestyle doesn\u2019t count \u2013 healthy behaviours remain important for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n Researchers said studying families with exceptional longevity can provide a window into the biology of healthy ageing and might even lead to treatments that could enhance lifespan, including in those who don\u2019t inherit exceptional longevity from their parents.<\/p>\n Study co-author Paola Sebastiani, director of the Center for Quantitative Methods and Data Science at Tufts Medical Center, ended: \u201cThese findings bring us closer to understanding the biological factors that may help protect against age-related disease and promote longer, healthier lives.\u201d<\/p>\n What can I do for my own longevity?<\/p>\n If you\u2019re keen to try and \u2018lifemaxx\u2019, Dr Asiya Maula, a GP and functional and lifestyle medicine specialist at The Health Suite<\/a>, previously shared three habits she swears by for healthy ageing and longevity.<\/a><\/p>\n 1. Regular strength training and general exercise<\/p>\n \u201cBuilding and maintaining muscle mass is so important, especially as we age,\u201d Dr Maula said.<\/p>\n \u201cI try to stick to at least two strength sessions a week, plus making sure I do some kind of daily movement each day, whether that be a brisk walk, some yoga or swimming.\u201d<\/p>\n 2. Getting at least seven hours sleep a night<\/p>\n \u201cGood quality sleep is fundamental to living a healthy life so I always try to prioritise getting at least seven hours each night,\u201d the doctor added.<\/p>\n \u201cThat means sticking to a regular bedtime routine and turning off my phone at least an hour before bed each night.\u201d<\/p>\n 3. Following a Mediterranean diet<\/p>\n \u201cFinally, I like to stick to a Mediterranean diet that prioritises whole foods, healthy fats and lean protein,\u201d the GP ended.<\/p>\n \u201cNumerous studies have linked a Mediterranean diet to a reduced risk of chronic disease and increased lifespan. It\u2019s also not overly restrictive, so it doesn\u2019t feel like a diet, but becomes a way of life instead.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If one or both of your parents lives to 100 \u2013 or surpasses that mighty age \u2013 it…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":600874,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[10791,134,3698,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-600873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-ageing","tag-health","tag-longevity","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/600873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=600873"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/600873\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/600874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=600873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=600873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=600873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/6aa7ea7f3c0000e4664e703b.jpg\")
<\/p>\n