The term longevity is used to designate what corresponds to the quality of longevity, therefore it can be said that longevity is that subject that manages to live longer than what the species to which it belongs normally lives. The use of this word is frequent in reference to the old age or the age of a living being, as can be the case of the age of an elderly person.
What is longevity
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The etymology of longevity rae comes from a word that has its origin in the Latin language, which is made up of the adjective "longus" whose translation is "long" and by "aevum" a noun refers to someone's time or age. It is a state of life span that is connected with the demography of a society, its lifestyle and habits, this is the case of humans, in the case of other living beings, it is their habitat, biological state, characteristic, etc. One of the synonymous longevity, is survival, vitality, persistence, etc. There is a lot of information on the web about this term, example, longevity pdf.
Longevity history
The data on longevity refer to the statements of Diogenes Laercio, who even declared that, according to Hipparchus of Nicaea (astronomer), Democritus of Abdera (philosopher) could live for around 109 years, which He could have been born in 460 BC and died in 360 BC There are also Greek references to this fact and it is supported by the opinion and life of different philosophers of the time in ancient Greece, among them are Xenophanes of Colophon, Pyrrho of Elis and Eratosthenes of Cyrene, each with more than 90 years lived from 565 to 190 BC
But in addition, there is information on the longest-lived people in history, those who lived for more than 100 years and who were and continue to be of scientific and social interest, among them are Jeanne Calment, who was born in 1875 and died in 1997, that is, he lived for 122 years. There is also Jiroemon Kimura, considered the oldest man in history for having lived for 116 years. Finally, there is María Antonia Cuero, who was born in 1902 and is still alive.
As for the life expectancy of a society, it also refers to the average life span of people who are located in a specific geographical area. There is no doubt that death is part of life, but despite this, the great scientific success of the 21st century is the increase in life expectancy that people have.
This is due to scientific and technological advances that allow the use of new methods of diagnosis and treatment of accidents and diseases, allowing life to be extended beyond the average that other previous generations had managed to achieve. Today there are many people who reach more than one hundred years of age, example, longevity in Mexico.
Characteristics of the oldest people
Longevity is one of the things that human beings crave most, but despite this, no one knows how to achieve it in its entirety, however, there are some habits that enhance self-care, for example, a healthy diet that respects the bases of the Mediterranean diet, also practicing some sport and exercise, working without leaving aside the rest that is always necessary, reinforcing personal relationships that are inherent to the social nature of human beings and living away from stress or situations that complicate people's lives.
Longevity of other species
Longevity, regardless of whether it is a human or any other living being, will always be an object of scientific and social interest, which is why we will talk about the two other types of longevity in living beings.
Longevity in the animal kingdom
There is not only one long-lived animal, in fact, there are many, including the clam, which lives for about 507 years and is considered the longest-lived animal. There is also the boreal whale, which lives to 200 years, the red hedgehog that lives 200 years, the turtle that lives up to 180 years, the elephant that can live up to 80 years, the golden eagle, which lives 80 years, the condor, with 75 years, the horse that lives up to 40 years, pig, that lives about 25 years, the giraffe, 25 years, the goat that lives 15, the cat can live from 15 to 32 years, the snake 10 years and the frog 3 years.
Longevity in the plant kingdom
In the vegetable kingdom, plants are considered to be the longest living being, in fact, it is said that the redwood can live up to 3,500 years, trees live many years and those that live less are the medlar, acacia, quince and the privet, which live between 25 and 30 years.
Longevity FAQs
What is the meaning of the word longevity?
It means the number of years of life that living beings have.
