What are the secrets of a long life

asks Su Smith:
A. There are lots of theories about what makes us live longer. Here are the latest:

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Be cheerful!
An ability to look on the bright side was one of the key factors in longevity, according to a 60-year study of men by scientists at Harvard Medical School. The others are:

• moderate drinking
• not smoking
• exercising
• not being overweight
• not suffering from depression
• not living in an inner-city area (unless you have a degree)
• having a stable marriage

Britain's leading expert on ageing, Professor Tom Kirkwood, commented: 'For some people the ageing process is determined by genetics. But three-quarters of it is down to non-genetic factors, such as nutrition and lifestyle.

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Grow tall!
A few recent studies have shown that tall people tend to live longer. An analysis of skeletons excavated at an archaeological site in north-east England showed that short bones were an indicator of a short life in pre-industrial societies too.�Medical historians are unable to say exactly why taller people have always lived longer, but theories include height being a marker for better nutrition in the womb, leaving tall people with a lower risk of heart and respiratory diseases.

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Have big hips!
Women with large hips are likely to live longer, a Swedish study showed. Compared to the group with the slimmest hips, women with a hip size of more than 103cm suffered less diabetes, fewer heart attacks and less cardiovascular disease.

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Be smart!
Intelligent people are likely to live longer. In 1932, every 11-year-old in Aberdeen was given an IQ test. Four years ago, researchers at Edinburgh and Aberdeen universities managed to find out what had happened to 2,230 of the 87,500 children tested. Those still alive in 1997 - when they were 76 - tended to have scored more highly in the childhood IQ tests than those who had died or were not traced.

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Don't get stressed!
The island of Okinawa in Japan is officially home to the longest-living, healthiest people in the world. Okinawans age slowly and common Western diseases are almost unheard of. They have 80% fewer heart attacks and less than a quarter of the levels of breast, ovarian and prostate cancer than the West. The menopause also occurs nearly ten years later with few side-effects.

What's their secret Their diet's good (they eat an average of seven portions of fruit and vegetables every day), they stay fit and active all their lives (there's no word for retirement), and - most important - they are never in a hurry, punctuality is not an issue and they maintain an optimistic view of life.

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Do you want to live to a be hundred

Visit the British Longevity Society website.

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By Sheena Miller