Calle de Jordán, a small street in the center of Madrid, encompasses the entire cycle of human life. A fertility clinic is located one block away. Block Down is a day center for retirees, with services such as memory training and mobility aids. It’s common to see women in their 60s escorting their 90-something mothers to the door.
The University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation recently released projections for longevity by country in 2050. Among the top 20 to live to a ripe old age are rich countries like Switzerland and Singapore, reports the Economist. East Asia is also represented by South Korea and Japan, traditional “powers” of longevity.
It’s not the income
But a geographic cluster of relatively poorer countries in Southern Europe also favors longer life expectancy: Spain, Italy, France and Portugal, Malta, San Marino, Andorra.
The oldest living person is a Spanish woman, Maria Branyas Morera (117), who was succeeded by a French woman. Health and longevity correlate over time with GDP per capita.
However, Southern Europe is against the tide, observes the economist. The average life expectancy in Spain (estimated at 85.5 years in 2050) will be higher than that of the average Dane (83.5).
Is it nutrition?
Many point out that the secret lies in the “Mediterranean diet” – fish, whole grains, fresh fruits, vegetables and olive oil. More skeptics, however, point out that the diet varies greatly between Portugal, France and Greece. Additionally, researchers found that current Mediterranean residents do not always adhere to the Mediterranean diet.
Spanish squares are full of people eating fried fish and ham, accompanied by beer at hours that some might consider inappropriate. Spaniards drink more and smoke a little more than the European average and are among the biggest cocaine users in Europe.
Dan Buettner, who has written several books about areas where people have lived for a long time, notes that to understand why people live to old age, we need to look not at today’s habits but at those of half a century ago, when people people ate “peasant food”. , dominated by cereals and legumes.
Walking
This pastoral past points to another factor: movement. Spaniards lead Western Europe with 5,936 steps per day, according to a 2017 study. Walking appears to reduce mortality from obesity-related diseases.
Why do Spaniards walk so much? Spanish cities, even small pueblos, are densely populated. Neither culture nor regulations favor large suburbs where a car is necessary to get around.
Paris and other places that aim to create “15-minute cities”, where most needs are within a short radius, could learn a lot from Spain.
Social contacts and psychology
Social life and stress levels also play a role. Psychology is very important for longevity. Southern European cities are built around squares where friends, family and colleagues sit, eat, drink and chat.
According to a recent survey conducted by Gallup, a pollster, and Meta, a social media company, 76% of Spaniards say they feel “very” or “fairly” socially supported. Jon Clifton, head of Gallup, comments to the Economist that his company’s investigation simultaneously reveals that Spaniards are quite dissatisfied and disinterested in work. A headline in the newspaper El País gave the reality in a nutshell: Spain is “the best country to live in and the worst to work”.
The role of the family
But work is not everything. Greeks are second in the world and Spaniards fourth when asked whether they have seen friends or family who live near them in the past week.
This may be a consequence of the fact that many young people in Southern Europe are unable to find jobs good enough to allow them to leave their parents’ home. Family ties remain close, even in difficult times such as the financial crisis and the pandemic.