World's Oldest Person Reveals Simple Secrets to Living Past 100

The Power of Perspective

Ethel May Caterham, who is the oldest person in the world at 116, lives in a nursing home in Surrey, England. Her secret to longevity is "taking everything in my stride, the highs and the lows". While millions chase expensive longevity treatments and biohacking protocols, she managed to become a "supercentenarian" – a person aged 110 or older – without any of the above.

Born in 1909, Caterham has lived through both world wars, the Great Depression, world-changing advances in technology and two major pandemics: the Spanish Flu and Covid-19, the latter of which she contracted and survived in 2020 at the age of 110. Her story highlights the importance of adaptability and a positive attitude in facing life's challenges.

Ethel's daily life now consists of simple pleasures. She enjoys spending time in her garden, listening to birds, and relaxing indoors while listening to classical music. These activities underscore the value of finding joy in everyday moments.

Science-Backed Strategies from Longevity Experts

Bill Gifford is co-author of the runaway #1 New York Times bestseller Outlive: The Art & Science of Longevity, with Dr. Peter Attia, MD , which has sold over a million copies by redefining how we approach healthcare and pursue wellness over merely treating diseases. Their research reveals that about 25% of the variation in human life span is determined by genetics. But the rest can be attributed in large part to how we take care of our bodies.

Dr. Attia identified four tactical areas to help people maintain their physical and cognitive capacity. These include exercise, food and nutrition, sleep, and emotional health. By concentrating on these areas, people can develop strategies that help them live longer and better lives.

Exercise is the most potent pro-longevity "drug"—and how to begin training for the "Centenarian Decathlon." Why you should forget about diets, and focus instead on nutritional biochemistry, using technology and data to personalize your eating pattern. The keys to perhaps living to age 100 or more are a healthy diet, regular physical activity, and good lifestyle choices.

The Growing Centenarian Population

The latest data, from 2023, released in March 2025 by the ONS, estimated there are a total of 16,140 centenarians in the UK — a figure that has more than doubled since 2002. This dramatic increase suggests that reaching 100 is becoming increasingly achievable for many people.

Estimates suggest that only around 20% of how we age is genetic, while a staggering 80% is influenced by our behaviour and environment. An excellent diet for promoting longevity is a plant-based diet. A study published in JAMA Network Open found that women who most closely adhered to the plant-based Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes vegetables (excluding potatoes), fruits, nuts, whole grains, legumes, and fish, and minimizes red and processed meat, were 23% less likely to die from any cause than women who did not closely adhere to this dietary pattern.

Beyond Physical Health

While tips about what to eat and how to exercise are absolutely important when it comes to longevity, it's equally crucial for your health that you spend an hour each week gossiping on the phone with a friend, never skip a practice with your bowling team, and reschedule that lunch date you canceled weeks ago. Countless studies in the last several decades have revealed that social connections don't just improve your life emotionally, but physically and psychologically as well.

The future of longevity lies not in expensive interventions but in understanding that aging and longevity are far more malleable than we think; our fate is not set in stone. With the right roadmap, you can plot a different path for your life, one that lets you outlive your genes to make each decade better than the one before. As Ethel Caterham demonstrates, sometimes the most profound secrets are the simplest ones: resilience, adaptability, and finding joy in life's everyday moments.