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One hundred-year-old American woman admits she loves fast food
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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A grandmother from the town of Knobsville (Indiana) recently celebrated her hundredth birthday. She herself claims that she never thought that she would live so many years, because she never led a healthy lifestyle and almost daily ate food called fast food.
Dorothy Fletcher - that is the name of the centenarian, said that her weaknesses are cheeseburgers, French fries and cola. Dorothy assures that she never even tried to organize a healthy diet or make adjustments to her usual lifestyle.
Scientists are not the first to discover centenarians who have far from the healthiest habits. For a long time, specialists have been observing venerable old people who could easily drink alcoholic beverages, neglect healthy foods, often face stress - and, nevertheless, live longer than other people. According to scientists, the incomprehensible longevity can be explained by a gene mutation, as a result of which the cellular structures in the body become immune to the degenerative processes associated with age.
The mutations in question were studied back in 2011 by experts from Amsterdam. Scientists analyzed the DNA of a woman who died at the age of 115 - this grandmother had a clear mind until her death.
As scientists discovered, mutations played the role of a kind of protective fence against many serious diseases - for example, senile dementia, atherosclerosis or Parkinson's disease.
Indeed, science has long determined that people die not because of the short life span allotted to them from above. The life span is shortened due to various diseases that the elderly body is no longer able to cope with. What other factors, according to scientists, are capable of prolonging human life - of course, besides gene mutations?
Experts have proven that people who have children, for the most part, live longer. The same applies to those who have pets. Short people live longer than tall people on average – by 10%. Working people live longer than those who suffer from idleness.
And some more advice from experts: if you want to live as long as possible – try not to worry in vain, do not overexert yourself physically, do not ignore visits to the doctor. You should take your health seriously.
But scientists considered the hereditary factor to be the most obvious. However, experts clarify: not everyone has the longevity gene, so the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle should not be canceled. The fewer chronic diseases a person brings with him into old age, the longer he will be able to live.
Still, longevity against the background of a not entirely healthy lifestyle is not the norm, but rather an exception to the rule. This is the conclusion made by experts. Therefore, you should not relax: healthy eating and moderate physical activity have not been canceled.
The full version with interviews with long-livers can be read on the Indy Star portal.
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