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June 1, 2005
Where centenarians bloom
I'd like to find out more about the famed centenarians of Soviet Georgia and Azerbaijan, but have been unable to find anything substantial on the internet. I've always been as sceptical about these old claims as I continue to be about China's claims of everything being 100% Fine and Dandy in the People's Republic.
This website on the many centenarians of Okinawa provides a brief alternative explanation, which seems sensible and believable:
In-depth studies of [Georgian and other] populations have shown that age-exaggeration is rampant and life expectancy is actually shorter than in the U.S., nor are there high concentrations of centenarians. The reasons behind the age exaggeration are complex but include the prestige that goes along with being the oldest individual in a village, avoidance of military service while young by assuming the identity of a deceased elder, and a general tendency for the elderly to inflate their ages.
Add to this the Soviet obsession with veneer, and victory in all and arbitrary fields - this would tie in with the commemorative stamps issued on the occasion of Mahmud Eyvazov's 148th.
Azerbaijan International isn't sceptical at all, and puts it down to lots and lots of yoghurt.
Posted by michele at June 1, 2005 1:46 PM