 From The 'Observer Newspaper' (London), 29/8/99.
Want to live to be
old - and healthy? Then move to the Mediterranean, avoid stress, climb
hills and soak yourself in olive oil.
By Helena Smith, Symi
Sunday August 29, 1999
At the last count
the remote Greek island of Symi, which lies in the Aegean above Rhodes off the coast
of Turkey, had more centenarians, proportionately, than anywhere else in Europe. If you're
only moderately lucky you live to be 85 on Symi - while the average life expectancy in
Europe is 78 for men and 82.5 for women. In Britain, it is even lower.
Take Dikea Papadopoulou. She is a grandmother with biceps the size of her husband's thighs
and a belly laugh to make a man cry.
Ever since she can remember, the white-haired amazon
has religiously rowed 'at least six hours a day'. For at 72, Dikea Papadopoulou is a mere
stripling. If God is on her side, most on Symi will take it for granted that she'll reach
100.
'Everyone knows someone on Symi who has lived out a
century,' she beams, returning from a fishing expedition where she rowed and her husband
cast the nets. 'My neighbour, Maria, was 110 when she died a couple of years ago and my
own grandmother was not much younger.'
Longevity is nothing new on Symi, where a habitual
birthday greeting is 'May you live to be 100 and more!'
The island's reputation for longevity goes back at
least 500 years. In 1494, when Europeans were lucky to reach 35, travellers were already
recording the phenomenon. One, a Venetian named Pietro Casola, noted in his diary after a
visit to the island that he had met villagers as old as 140.
From around 22,000 in its heyday, Symi's population
has shrunk to about 2,700 people. But of that number at least 40 are believed to be
centenarians. The figure may be higher because officials do not rule out the possibility
that some of the older generation have forgotten the year of their birth.
'The average age on Symi is much higher than for the
rest of Greece,' says Dr Savvas Karayiannis, an epidemiologist who spent five years
studying life expectancy on the island. 'Our research has shown it's getting higher by the
year as the death rate also decreases.'
 The islanders' traditional Mediterranean diet of fruit, vegetables, pulses,
fish and olive oil is believed to be behind their longevity. Cardiologists now unanimously
agree that these nutrient-rich foods not only play a leading role in avoiding heart
disease - the Western world's foremost killer - but also actively prevent it.
'Exercise is also a major factor,' adds Karayiannis.
'There are 357 steps in Symi and villagers walk up and down them several times a day just
to get to and from their homes - it definitely helps keep them young.' The islanders'
lifestyle appears not only to have lengthened their lives, but equally to have shortened
their dying. Despite the increasing prevalence of cancer elsewhere, most of the islanders
live an illness-free existence. 'Healthwise, the quality of their lives is much better
than elsewhere,' he said. 'And when they die, they do so quickly..
Locals say it is Symi's extraordinary history of longevity that has lured
foreigners, bent on living a guaranteed 'second life'.
'About 150 foreigners live here permanently and most
of them are British,' says Miltiades Sarris, the island's energetic mayor. 'They like the
pace and tranquillity of the place and, of course, the climate.' Experts say the lack of
stress is another reason why people live longer on Symi. Stress has been directly linked
to heart disease, cancer and accidents.
As elsewhere, women outlive men. But Symi's amazons
do not follow the Greek tradition for widows to dress in permanent mourning. They almost
never wear black, preferring instead to dress in vibrant colours all year round.
'Symi is very much a matriarchy, with the women
pulling the strings both privately and publicly,' sighs Sarris. 'Because we are a
seafaring race, most of our men have always been kept busy off the island. It is the women
who wield the power.'
Those who live to be 100 have almost never left the
island.
But why would they ever want to?
ŠThe Observer Newspaper
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