World's Oldest Woman Celebrates Her 117th Birthday
Misao Okawa has become the world's oldest living person after hitting her 117th birthday and living through three centuries.
A great-grandmother was born in Osaka, Japan, on March 5, 1898, before the invention of cars, planes and telephones. She was recognized as the world's oldest person by Guinness World Records in 2013. Asked the secret to her long life she answered that 117 years didn't seem like such a long time and she herself does not know how she managed to live for such a long time.
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In more recent interviews the woman said that she credited her longevity to eight hours sleep, eating sushi, and doing squats until the age of 102. Mrs Okawa's birthday party was shown on TV across Japan, with government official presenting her with a bouquet of flowers to mark the special day. The supercentenarian got married in 1919 and had three children with her husband Yukio, who died in 1931.
She now lives near to her children, four grandchildren and six great grandchildren. According to staff at the nursing home, she has slowed in recent months and has trouble hearing but she eats three large meals a day and always sleeps eight hours a night, in general, she is in good health. Mrs Okawa says that the happiest moments of her life were her wedding and the birth of her children – she still has a surviving son and daughter who are now 94 and 92.
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Japanese has the most centenarians in the world, with more than 58,000, according to the government. About 87 percent of them are women. They say it is down to an excellent healthcare system, encouragement to stay active in old age and a healthy diet made up of fish, rice and fruit.
Source: Legit.ng
