Jimmy Carter just turned 100, a milestone that more and more people are reaching. What’s the secret?

The Pew Research Center said in January that the number of Americans ages 100 and older is expected to rise significantly over the next 30 years, from an estimated 101,000 in 2024 to about 422,000 in 2054, citing forecasts by the US Census Bureau.

Both figures far exceed data from 1950, when the Census Bureau reported an estimated 2,300 Americans over the age of 100, according to Pew.

“By 2054, the global centenarian population is expected to grow to nearly 4 million,” compared to the current global population of about 722,000, Pew said.

Racial and gender disparities persist in the data

The Pew Center said in January that 78 percent of centenarians in the U.S. in 2024 will be women and 22 percent will be men. Additionally, the racial distribution for the U.S. age group this year is 77 percent white, 8 percent black, 7 percent Asian, 6 percent Hispanic, and smaller percentages for those who identify as multiracial, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islanders.

The center projects that the American centenarian population in 2054 will be 72 percent white, 10 percent black, 5 percent Asian and 11 percent Hispanic, with smaller percentages in the multiracial, Native American categories /Alaska Natives” and “Native Hawaiians/Other Pacific Islanders.” .

Can I reach 100 with a healthy lifestyle?

Healthy habits help, but it largely depends on genetics, says a February 2024 report from the New England Centenarian Study at Boston University’s Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, a project started in 1995.

To reach age 90, 75 percent of our aging depends on our personal “health behaviors,” according to the report, while reaching age 105 or older is 75 percent due to about “200 protective genes” present in centenarians are.

How healthy will people be when they reach the century mark?

The BU researchers said in their February report that about 90 percent of centenarians remain “disability-free” into their early 90s.

And, the report says, 15 percent of centenarians are considered “refugees,” or people who are unlikely to have escaped age-related diseases by age 100. And a whopping 70 percent of the so-called “refugees” at the age of 100 manage to avoid father time and live independently for a while longer until they reach the age of 106, according to the BU report.

“But with some rare exceptions, centenarians have as many disease-associated genetic variants as the average population,” the BU researchers say on their website. “Their genetic advantage is therefore likely due to variants that slow aging and reduce the risk of age-related diseases such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer’s.”

Carter, for his part, still enjoys listening to music, according to the New York Times reported Monday on Xformerly Twitter.

“Jimmy Carter’s aides always said he would outlive them,” wrote Times reporter Sheryl Gay Stolberg. “He turns 100 on Tuesday. I love this: The former president listens to music, including old friends like Bob Dylan and the Allman Brothers Band. His favorite song is “Unanswered Prayers” by Garth Brooks.

Women who have children later have a higher chance of reaching 100

The BU researchers’ website states that women who have children in midlife have a better chance of becoming centenarians.

“Several studies have found an association between older maternal age and an increased likelihood of exceptional survival,” the website says. “Women who gave birth after age 40 (fertility support was not technically available for this cohort) were four times more likely to become a centenarian.”

The website says researchers are currently studying genes that affect reproductive ability to see if they may also affect the rate of aging and “susceptibility to age-related diseases.”

Didn’t they make a documentary about it?

Yes. Last year, Netflix released “Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones,” referencing several geographic areas on the planet that have the highest concentration of centenarians, including Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Ikaria, Greece; Nicoya, Costa Rica; and Loma Linda, California.

“These five locations share some similar elements – a plant-based diet, natural exercise and the priority of family – that have been shown to promote the longevity and health of residents,” the film’s website says.

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Travis Andersen can be reached at [email protected].