It Makes a Difference to the Sheep

WORLD'S OLDEST MAN DIES AT 114.

There are an estimated 15,000 people in Japan over the age of 100, most of them women.

I'm surprised we haven't seen more attempts to understand and sell the "miracle Japanese diet" that produces so many long-lived folks. Perhaps it is because there really isn't a clear dietary link outside of "healthy eating":

Born on 23 March 1889, he attributed his own longevity to healthy eating and being an optimist.

"He hates vegetables but loves to eat meat and drink milk," his daughter once said.

She said his favourite meal had been boiled rice mixed with bits of chicken meat.

The downside to the longevity of many Japanese is the social strains this will put on an aging society:

Japan has the world's longest life expectancy - 78 years for men and 80 for women.

But experts say there is a downside in Japan to this otherwise rosy picture of health.

The country is an ageing society with a shrinking workforce, which must support more and more retired people.

Economists are predicting a crisis in the state pension system within a few years, because the benefits being paid out far exceed payments being made into it.

The aging and reduced birth rates of developed nations may prove to be one of the more significant trends of the next century.