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The Longevity Project

Surprising Discoveries for Health and Long Life From the Landmark Eight-decade Study
May 25, 2011
Book is easy to read. It is like a conversation between friends, over coffee, who recount their research experience in the study of why some people live a long life. The researches, Howard Friedman and Leslie Martin, whose research experience covers the past couple of decades of their continuation of a longitudinal study started in 1921, of 1,500 four and five year old students, in the San Francisco area. As of the publication of the book, the study is still in process, because some of the subject were still alive. The original work was started in the 20's by Dr. Lewis Terman. The authors were impressed with the characteristic of conscientiousness and sociability as key characteristics of people as predictors of longevity. The authors used, by way of example, Lewis Terman, the person who initiated the longevity study, and our local Ancel Keys, of the University of Minnesota, as conscientious and sociable people. Conscientious, Lewis Terman was dedicated to his psychological studies and Ancel Keys to his study of cholesterol. Sociability, Lewis Terman lived to 79, and died the same year his wife of 55 years died; and, Ancel Keys, who lived to 100