- published: 20 Nov 2011
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A centenarian is a person who lives to or beyond the age of 100 years. Because current average global life expectancies are less than 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. A supercentenarian is a person who has lived to the age of 110 or more, something only achieved by about one in 1,000 centenarians. Even rarer is a person who has lived to age 115; as of April 2012[update], there are only 27 people in recorded history who have indisputably reached this age. In 2009, the United Nations estimated that there were 455,000 living centenarians worldwide.
The United States currently has the greatest number of centenarians of any nation, estimated at 70,490 on September 1, 2010. This corresponds to a national incidence of one centenarian per 4,400 people.
Japan has the second-largest number of centenarians, with an estimated 47,756 as of September 2011. Japan started its surveys in 1963, at which time the number of Japanese centenarians was found to be 153. This number surpassed the 10,000 mark in 1998, 20,000 in 2003, and 40,000 in 2009. According to a UN Demographic survey, Japan is expected to have 272,000 centenarians by 2050. However, some sources suggest that the number could be closer to 1 million. Many experts attribute Japan's high life expectancy to the Japanese diet, which is particularly low in refined simple carbohydrates, and to hygienic practices. In addition, the number of centenarians in relation to the total population was, in September 2010, 114% higher in Shimane Prefecture than the ratio for the whole of Japan. This ratio was also 92% higher in Okinawa Prefecture. In addition to diet, there are four other factors that have been found to increase the life expectancy for Okinawans, as noted later in the "research into centenarians" section of this article. The incidence of centenarians in Japan was one per 3,522 people in 2008, although Okinawa again exceeded this average, with one per 1,838 people in 2006.
I am a man as a man I've been told
Bacon is brought to the house in this mold
Born of your bellies I yearn for the cord
Years I have groveled, repentance ignored
And I have been blamed and I have repented
I'm working my way toward our union mended
I am man who has grown from a son
Been crucified by enraged women
I am son who was raised by such men
I'm often reminded of the fools I'm among
And I have been shamed and I have relented
I'm working my way toward our union mended
And I have been shamed and I have repented
I'm working my way toward our union mended
We don't fare well with endless reprimands
We don't do well with a life served as a sentence
And this won't work well if you're hell bent on your offense
'Cause I am a man who understands your resistance
I am a man who still does what he can
To dispel our archaic reputation
I am a man who has heard all he can
'Cuz I don't fare well with endless punishment
'Cuz I have been blamed and I have repented
I'm working my way toward our union mended
And we have been blamed and we have repented
I'm working my way toward our union mended
We don't fare well with endless reprimands
And we don't do well with a life served as a sentence
And this won't work well if you're hell bent on your offense