[Villages PL]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

Oh. I kinda lean toward the New England Journal of Medicine or Lancet. Or Science or ...folks who have a track record for being mighty careful with words and research.

The problem is we don't have the details of how the study was conducted. One thing we know is that they studied centenarians. People who already made it to advanced old age. And then there was a control group. Were they centenarians too? Important details seem to be missing.

It would be more believeable if they had started with 70 or 75 year olds and then predicted who would live to be healthy centenarians. Then follow them as they age and see how they do. At least it would be more understandable.

[Villages PL]

Originally Posted by Cantwaittoarrive

I think anyone that tries to look at longevity or anything else from the perspective that one factor controls an outcome has a major flaw in the logic they are using. In the case of identical twins just because genes are shared doesn't mean all of the other factors that influence longevity were the same. i.e. enviromental (toxic exposures, stresses and etc.), lifestyle and many additional factors one would have to account for when comparing "apples to apples"

I agree. Take flower seeds, for example. The seeds represent genes that will germinate and grow into a plant that will make flowers. You can't grow flowers without seeds/genes. And genes by themselves can't do anything without the environment. The genes/seeds need to be acted upon (triggered) by the environment in order for them to express their potential to grow and make flowers. It has been said that the result depends 50% on genes and 50% on environment.

What happens if you plant them in the shade when they require full sun? What happens if the soil lacks proper nutrients? What happens if they get too much water or not enough water? What happens if you plant them in the fall instead of spring? The point is: Environmental conditions count for a lot. And it's no different for humans in that we need a healthy environment/lifestyle too.