From weight-loss jabs and fad diets to healthy eating and regular exercise, society can at times feel obsessed with the quest to live a better and longer life. Due to advances in science and medicine, for many, that dream has become a reality.
The post-war baby boom has sparked a generation of centenarians with the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics showing there were an estimated 14,850 centenarians living in England and Wales in 2023.
This figure is more than double the number of centenarians in 2002, but a 0.5 per cent decrease compared with 2022.
The large post-First World War birth cohort, aged 103 years in 2023, accounted for 9.7 per cent of those aged 100 years and over, ONS analysis shows. As this cohort ages and decreases in size, the effect on the size of the centenarian population continues to reduce.
Four British centenarians, who each served in the Second World War or contributed to the war effort, spoke to i about their tips and tricks for living a long, healthy and happy life.
(Dad) dancing
Each of the centenarians i spoke to expressed a love for dancing, something they credit with keeping them physically and mentally fit.
“I used to go dancing. I loved dancing and I still do,” 100-year-old Pat Rogers, who lives at Care UK’s Mountfitchet House in Coltsfield, Stansted, said before offering to demonstrate.
Joan Grose, a lifelong Rod Stewart fan who lives in the same residence as Pat, was treated to a performance from an impersonator at her 100th birthday celebrations, having met the man himself a few years earlier.
“I loved dancing,” Joan, 101, said. “I must admit I was a good dancer.”
Motown fan Frank Headington, 100, who lives independently in a Churchill Living apartment in Warlingham, Surrey, joined his local golf club around the age of 40. He admits he was never a great golfer but really enjoyed the social side of things.
“We used to have some incredible rave ups every month. You might call it dad dancing but I could move,” he said.
Arthur Lambert, 100, who also lives in a Churchill Living apartment in Reigate in Surrey also credits music to helping keep him “mentally young”.
“My wife and I were very keen ballroom dancers and I think that also helps us a lot because it’s a very mental and physical activity,” Arthur, who used to attend weekly lessons, said.
Be a rebel
“As you get older, people keep telling you what to do,” Pat said. “I decided what I should be doing or not because when people keep telling you what to do you’ve got to decide whether it’s the best thing for you or not and I didn’t care.”
Pat, served in the British Liberation Army during the Second World War and at the end of the war was stationed in Germany where she communicated with ministers in Downing Street but says she still maintained her rebellious nature.
“When I was in the army I had to conform. If I could get out of it and I thought it was wrong I’d get out of it – I’d go and hide somewhere,” she said.
Frank suggested such confidence comes with age. “There’s another thing that happens to you, I think, at this age: you begin to care a little less about what people might think about what you might do or say.”
Why has the number of centenarians doubled since 2002?
Kerry Gadsdon, from the centre for ageing and demography at the ONS, explains the factors that have contributed to a bumper generation of centenarians:
She said: “If we look to the point where they were born, we’re looking at the return of the soldiers after the First World War, and we see that birth spiked in that latter half of 1919 which is approximately nine months after the war ended in November 1918 and we saw births in the year of 1920 increase almost 40 per cent versus the year before. So there was a significant increase of birth. So a significant cohort, babies that were born.
“Now, if you take that and combine that with the fact that the UK has seen rapid improvement of life expectancy over many decades for quite a variety of reasons, for example, advances in health, lifestyle and working conditions, so all of those combined together lead to this record number of older people in our population, and that does include these centenarians.”
Keep learning
It is never too late to learn, according to Frank. “Just two or three years ago, having hated him at school, Shakespeare came into my life when the family bought me a wee book of sonnets,” he said.
“I’ve learned a lot of about sonnets,” he added. “I can recite three of them from memory and this is what I like to do in the way of brain exercise is learn those things to recite them, because I like to perform in front of people if I can.”
He also keeps up with technology, streaming his favourite songs from his tablet.
Eat well, exercise and remain positive
“Positive thinking, diet and exercise” are also key, Arthur said. He goes out walking every morning, weather permitting. He also watches his weight and practices gratitude. “I do thank God for what I’ve got as well,” he said.
“My diet is quite good,” Pat said, adding she has always watched her weight throughout her life. “I’ve always managed to keep slim,” she said. “And I think if you can do that you can keep in good health.”
Growing up in the countryside had a positive influence on Joan’s diet. “Vegetables were there to go out and pick, the fruit was there. I had two uncles who had farms and we had plenty of meat. The food was always healthy, always good.”
For anyone who struggles with sticking to a strictly healthy diet, Frank, offers some comfort. “I will eat almost anything. I’ve got a very easygoing diet. But now at this age, I do find that I can’t eat as much as I used to. But that’s probably a good thing.”
Stay close to family and friends
Arthur was happily married for 65 years before his wife died in 2016. The pair share one daughter and two grandchildren and a great grandchild.
Arthur has to check his diary and text friends if he’s free due to his full social schedule, and has regularly video calls with his daughter who lives in the US. He thinks staying tech savvy also helps maintain connections. “I’ve probably taken it for granted how it has helped,” he adds.
Joan grew up in the countryside and got very involved in village life and the community spirit that came along with it. “I enjoyed people and I think growing up in a real village you had no choice but to meet everybody, and it was a good life.”
For Frank, one of the most important things has been the “gift” of his extended family. “Three daughters, six grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. I derive a lot of pleasure and socialise with them so much.”
Keep busy
“I found the main thing is I’ve been a workaholic and that’s kept me going completely and it still does,” Arthur said. As a schoolboy he worked a paper round and milk round before becoming an engineering apprentice.
He finished his career as a management director around the age of 70 and then became a recruiter for the federation for small businesses. “I was working until I was 90,” he said.
Avoid stress
“You should try and avoid stress – that is my best advice, but I’m quite as good as worrying as anyone else,” Frank said.
He also encourages maintaining a sense of humour – and if you can, “the ability to make other people laugh – which I can sometimes, not always”.
Be kind
“Ones behaviour towards other people is really important. I like to treat people the way I like to be treated myself,” Arthur said. “And I think that’s had benefits for me in life – to have a nice behaviour and be kind to people. If you have a nasty, cruel streak it catches up with you in time.”
Pat said: “Whatever you want to do. Try to carry it out and try to do the right thing, especially with other people. I didn’t want to be bad friends with anybody and I wasn’t. I’ve had some really good friends and company and I still have them too.
“People appreciate if you’re a reasonable person, they treat you that way and I’ve always found that.”
