Why Andorrans live longer than everyone else

[Guest guest]

The following article should be interesting.Ralph Giarnella MD

Southington Ct USA

Why Andorrans live longer than everyone else

* Story Highlights

* The average Andorran lives 85 years, longer than anywhere else on the planet

* The tiny country is wedged in the mountains between France and Spain

* Diet and nutrition seems to play a role in keeping Andorrans alive and

healthy

By Pat

CNN

ANDORRA LA VELLA, Andorra (CNN) -- Getting to Andorra,

a tiny country wedged in the mountains between France and Spain, is no

easy feat. No airport, no train station, and the nearest city Toulouse

is at least a 2 hour drive away.

Perhaps that's part of the

secret of this tiny principality high up in the Pyrenees Mountains:

that its quiet isolation has created a relatively stress-free

life-style which has made them the world champions in the global

longevity sweepstakes, at least according to the latest U.S. Census

Department estimates.

The average Andorran today can expect to live at least 85 years -- longer than

anywhere else on the planet.

Meeting

Andorrans from all walks of life, it soon becomes clear that the

concept of living longer was not on everyone's mind, but the idea of

living well and living healthy came up in nearly every conversation.

From doctors in town to the elderly shepherd in the mountains, they

speak of eating good natural food and of the exercise which comes

naturally in walking up and down the hillsides.

Dr. Albert Font,

Director of Andorra's Geriatric Clinic, is convinced that living in the

mountains is, in general, healthier both for mind and body: " It's

because we have this natural environment that we have such a balanced

health, " he told CNN.

Watch a report on the secrets of long life in Andorra »

Elderly

Andorrans have a daily routine that would put much younger people in

the shade: outside their Assisted Living Residence, a group of about 30

senior citizens in their 80's and 90's out for a cold morning's walk

went slowly but surely and easily negotiated two or three flights of

stairs built into the mountainside.

After that 'warm-up' most of them headed for the gym for stationary bike riding

and exercise class.

Diet and nutrition awareness also seems to play a role in keeping Andorrans

alive and healthy.

Nestled

in valleys between France and Spain, there is very little cultivatable

land and strangely enough, tobacco seems to be one of the few crops

raised on the little farmland in the country.

But meat, vegetables and fish from its larger neighbors make their

way to the dinner tables in Andorra, resulting in a high-altitude

version of the Mediterranean diet so many strive for elsewhere.

But

even in this land-locked little country, times are changing and the

older generation worries that the slow invasion of fast food and the

passivity of video games and the like, may have a negative impact on

the life expectancy of the young.

Seventy-six-year old farmer

Pierre Font Vergas remembers the days when just taking his herd of

cattle to pastures and back home again would easily mean hiking 30

kilometers (18 miles) up and down the mountain trails each day.

A

new lifestyle has come to the principality, the old farmer told CNN.

Skiing and tourism are the country's new profit centers, life is

getting increasingly stressful, more people are eating fast food

instead of the traditional diet and not getting enough exercise, he

added.

It would seem that the secrets to long life in Andorra are

not really secrets at all. They are well documented. Good health care,

clean water, proper diet, plenty of exercise and a low-stress, positive

life

However, there's one other thing to consider when trying to

understand the Andorran's penchant for life and living long: the

feeling of community and an unusual closeness to friends and family.

Filming

at an elderly care home, it was full of families including young

children spending an hour or two on a weekday with an aged parent or

grandparent.

And even to stop to ask a question or a direction,

people seemed to know about everything and everyone else in the

country. Some might find that intrusive, or even boring.

But there seemed to be a marked sense of peace in the way people here see life.

Dr.

Font thinks there is a specific reason for that sense of happiness in

Andorra: " We don't have any violence. I think it's one of the safest

countries in the world. "

" And after all, " one Andorran told CNN, " unlike the rest of Europe, we haven't

been touched by a war in more than 700 years. "

All AboutAging and the Elderly • Andorra

Find this article at:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/23/andorra.life.expectancy/index.html