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WHAT I LEARNT ABOUT AGEING WELL … IN GOZO

April 13, 2018 6 Comments

gozo breakfast 2

A week of hiking, reading and sunshine on the gorgeous island of Gozo has left me reinvigorated but a little baffled. Here’s why…

The island gets an average 3000 hours of annual sunshine, more than double that of London. So no Vitamin D deficiencies here. The high level of sunlight might also help explain the very low suicide rates (the lowest in Europe). Emerging research suggests the experience of sun-on-skin triggers the production of endorphins.

The Gozitans eat a diet based largely on fresh local produce, much of it organic as pesticides aren’t used (pictured above is what I had for breakfast each day). There are few of the usual fast food outlets and the locals I spoke to described their diet (with hushed reverence) as vegetable potages, olive oil, the local unpasteurised sheep cheese, tomato and bean pates and bread, with rabbit, pork or fish for special occasions.

The Maltese and Gozitans have close networks of friends and family and are devoutly Catholic (divorce was only recently legalised). We like poking around in old churches and while in England churches are always empty, in Gozo they’re humming. We saw people praying (on their knees!) and lighting candles, in every church we entered. If you’ve followed our blog, you’ll know that faith and a sense of spiritual purpose are excellent fodder for ageing well.

Unsurprisingly, when I examined the stats I found the Maltese have impressive life expectancy rates (10th position for 2016 world rankings). Even more impressive are the statistics for what the World Health Organisation call Healthy Life Years (HLY), how long you can expect to live without chronic disease – aka healthspan.

When it comes to healthspan, Sweden and Malta top the EU chart. In both countries, women can expect to live more than 85% of their life expectancy without any debilitating disease, a proportion that reaches over 90% for men.

So far, so good. The Maltese and Gozitans clearly conform to the US National Institute of Ageing’s hypothesis that “the largest clusters of the long-lived are found in countries that have a good diet and close-knit communities.”

And yet we couldn’t help noticing the vast number of very ample people, the many elderly smokers (even smoking – illegally – in bars, in front of No Smoking signs), and the huge portions served in most restaurants.

We also noticed that no one walked or cycled. The hiking routes we took were invariably concrete and wide enough for a quad bike, if not a car. We were overtaken constantly – on footpaths of the roughest terrain – by motorbikes, quad bikes and old cars spewing out plumes of black smoke. But never by other walkers.

So back I went to the statistics. And yes, all is not as rosy as it first statistically appeared.

Malta and Gozo have half the average rate of centenarians, compared to other European countries (a mere third of the British rate). So while many live well until their early 80s, few get beyond that.

More surprising still, Malta and Gozo have the highest obesity rates in all Europe. 58% of adults are classified as over-weight and 22% as obese, in spite of a diet rich in pesticide-free vegetables, olive oil and vitamin D.

It gets worse. Malta and Gozo have the highest prevalence of Type 2 diabetes in Europe.

Their rates for breast cancer and coronary heart disease are also well above average.

Malta and Gozo should, by rights, be Blue Zones. Instead the islands are a ticking time bomb. 39% of Maltese boys (aged 10-12) are obese – making them almost the fattest boys on the planet.

So what’s going on?

The answer may lie in the islanders’ sedentary lifestyle. Apparently, they’re the least physically active in the world, with almost 72% qualifying as inactive. Their children do less exercise than in any other EU country and watch more TV.

They also have one of the highest sugar consumptions in Europe.

According to a Gozitan friend, the shift from an agrarian society to one in which the newly educated have office-based jobs and want to flaunt their new wealth by buying cars is partly to blame. A Maltese friend suggested that the cool winters in unheated houses encouraged heavy carb eating while the summers are simply too hot to be outside exercising.

Our taxi driver added his views: “We eat too late in the evening and snack all day on pastizzies.” These are rather delicious pasties of flaky pastry stuffed with local cheese or peas that can be bought (as we greedily did on several occasions) on many street corners.

So. What did I learn – in spite of the baffling data – on the glorious island of Gozo? Two lines:

You can have nutrient-dense food, endless sun, spiritual purpose and a close-knit family. But these will only do so much. If you’re over-eating and failing to move, everything else is largely redundant.

Right, I’m getting off my butt and going for a (fast) walk… and then I’m googling treadmill desks. Anyone use one? All advice gratefully received!

Annabel

  • Conditions: Ageing, Diabetes, Heart disease, Obesity
« WHAT YOUR DOCTOR SHOULD TELL YOU, AND MISO COD
THESE VEGETABLES WILL STRENGTHEN YOUR BONES – AND KALE SHAKSHUKA »

Comments

  1. Crasterkipper says

    April 13, 2018 at 7:12 am

    Very interesting, thanks. Will also walk home tonight instead of taking the bus!

    Reply
    • Annabel Abbs says

      April 13, 2018 at 9:12 pm

      Great idea … keep moving! Thanks for the comment…

      Reply
  2. Sue says

    April 13, 2018 at 1:01 pm

    Your articles are always a joy to read and provide an informed and amusing overview of issues.
    Thank you

    Reply
    • Annabel Abbs says

      April 13, 2018 at 9:10 pm

      Thank you, Sue! Glad you enjoyed …

      Reply
  3. Gaynor says

    April 25, 2018 at 1:58 am

    Your breakfast looked delicious and healthy, but it was interesting to hear that there in Malta and Gozo there is living proof that a modern sedentary lifestyle can over-ride the natural advantages of pesticide free food and sunshine.
    We all need to get out and move more. I am always full of admiration for people who give up their free time and coach and organise children’s sport. Perhaps they need more of those community minded people on these islands.

    Reply
    • Annabel Abbs says

      April 28, 2018 at 6:00 am

      I suspect they do – or ban TV even?!? These are such important habits and it’s so much easier if one starts young. My parents didn’t have a car so we always walked everywhere and i’ve made my children do the same thing (to their eternal irritation but they’ll thank me one day!). Keep moving, Gaynor!

      Reply

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Welcome to The Age-Well Project

Welcome to The Age-Well Project!
Here you’ll find easy changes for a longer, happier life. We’ve immersed ourselves in the science of longevity and distilled the research to make it work in our everyday lives. You can change the way you age: here’s how.

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Everything we’ve learnt about ageing well points Everything we’ve learnt about ageing well points to a time (for women at least) in their mid-60s when the chronic conditions of ageing, like diabetes, heart disease and dementia, are - statistically - more likely to kick in. 

And we know that our reproductive hormones do so much more than prepare us to have periods and babies, we have receptors for them throughout our bodies and brains. 

Oestrogen, in particular, helps keep bones strong, blood vessels flexible, brains firing and inflammation levels low. Essentially, it wraps us up in a cosy protective cloak to keep us safe and healthy while we're able to reproduce, but once the eggs have run out - we're on our own! 

Between the average age of menopause at 51, and that time in our 60s when the chronic conditions of ageing are more likely to kick in, we have a decade or so in which it’s vital to focus on our health.

And how to do that? It’s on the blog - link in bio

#longevity #womenover50 #agewell #ageingwell #agingwell #longevityblog #healthblog #agewellblog #over50bloggers #womenover50 #healthspan #womenover60 #menopause #menopausehealth #postmenopause #postmenopausefitness #postmenopausal #oestrogen #hormonalhealth
If you’re lucky enough to have good metabolic he If you’re lucky enough to have good metabolic health you might want to thank your Mum today. Recent studies have found that women who move around during their reproductive years and during pregnancy and then breastfeed for a bit pass on a compound in their milk called 3SL which provides lifelong protection against poor metabolic health. The offspring of moving, breastfeeding Mums appear to have a lower lifetime risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and other chronic metabolic disease. Even gentle strolling during pregnancy and while nursing can produce this compound. So today we thank our Mums for that - as well as everything else.  Susan’s mum in the hat. Annabel’s mum in the pony tail. 

#mothersday #mothers #move #agewell #goodhealth #longevitylifestyle #longevity #walk
There’s been lots of good news for walkers recen There’s been lots of good news for walkers recently. A study published last month found that over-60s who walked between 6000 and 9000 steps a day cut their risk of heart disease (including strokes and heart attacks) by 40-50 percent, when compared to a more typical 2000 steps a day. In fact this study found that for every additional 1000 steps walked, the risk fell still further. 

How far are you walking to age well? Let us know in the comments and there’s more on the power of walking on the blog - link in bio

#longevity #womenover50 #agewell #ageingwell #agingwell #longevityblog #healthblog #agewellblog #over50bloggers #womenover50 #healthspan #womenover60 #walking #womenwhowalk #womenwhohike #reversewalking #backwardswalking #walkingbackwards
A big hug from us to you to mark International Wom A big hug from us to you to mark International Women’s Day! 

The campaign this year reminds us to embrace equity as a way to recognise that each of us has different circumstances, and we need different resources and opportunities to reach an equal outcome. Of course, this is as vital in ageing and health outcomes as in every other field.  

So we’re embracing our age and hoping to grow older in a more equitable society ❤️

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If you’re not sure how to start or are worried about looking silly (we were) - there are lots of tips on the blog, link in bio. 

If you’re a backwards walker, let us know in comments below! 

If you’re planning to start, save this post for when you’re ready for some reverse walking 

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