Carter's Longevity Secret vs Trump's Health Secret [Curiosity Lab]

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who has supported the Habitat movement and enjoyed woodworking for over 40 years after his retirement. Photo by The Carter Center

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who passed away at the age of 100, was admitted to hospice care in February 2023. His family thought he had only a few days left to live. Most people who enter hospice pass away within six months. However, Carter lived for more than a year after admission and died on December 29, 2024. Carter had a complex family medical history. His mother lived until 85, but his father died of pancreatic cancer at 58. His siblings also died from pancreatic cancer, and his mother suffered from the disease as well. Carter himself was diagnosed with melanoma that had metastasized to his liver and brain in 2015, and in 2019 he suffered multiple fractures from falls. Despite all this, he lived to be 100 years old.

Former U.S. President Carter enjoying fly fishing. Photo by The Carter Center

◆Carter, who lived to 100, spent his life serving, loving, and meeting people

Carter’s secret to longevity, along with his resilience after spending more than a year in hospice care, includes ▲participation in community activities such as the Habitat for Humanity home-building movement (sense of purpose) ▲pursuit of new challenges (founding the Carter Center) ▲strong bonds (married to his wife for 77 years) ▲regular exercise (running, cycling, traveling, fishing, woodworking) ▲extroverted personality (social activities) ▲faith (religious beliefs).

Kim Hyung-seok, a 105-year-old (born April 1920) honorary professor of philosophy at Yonsei University, advises that after age 60, mental health is more important than physical health and especially to do what you can while your health allows. At a symposium of the Korean Healthy Aging Society last October, he said, "Many people ask me how long I can live, but I answer that those who work live as long as they work," adding, "From a social perspective, all great leaders who left many achievements lived past their 60s, and usually mental strength (mental health) sustained their lives until around 80."

Professor Emeritus Kim Hyung-seok of Yonsei University giving a lecture at the 2022 Asia Economy Forum

◆Modern medicine does not guarantee everyone will live to 100

Can following the examples of former President Carter or Professor Kim Hyung-seok guarantee living to 100? Not necessarily. Even in the era of centenarians, only about 5 out of 100 newborns today will live to 100. According to a paper published last year in Nature Aging by Professor Jay Olshansky’s team at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the probability of surviving to 100 is expected to be no more than 15% for women and 5% for men.

Donald Trump, who persistently scrutinized the health of President Joe Biden, who is in his eighties and a few years older than him, is known as a hamburger and golf enthusiast but does not drink or smoke. A video of him disciplining his youngest son Barron with the words "Don’t drink, smoke, do drugs, or get tattoos" is still widely circulated. Trump also told the White House staff and press corps’ children in 2019, "Don’t drink or smoke." His 2017 inauguration luncheon was alcohol-free. This was prompted by his brother Fred Trump Jr.’s struggle with alcoholism and death at age 42. In a 2016 Fox News interview, Trump said, "(If you) don’t start drinking, no problems arise. Once you start, stopping is very difficult," adding, "I might have the gene that prevents me from drinking moderately like my deceased brother. That scares me." Trump has also advised in several autobiographies not to shake hands and not to trust doctors.

President-elect Donald Trump experienced a one-day part-time job at McDonald's during his presidential campaign. Photo by AP Yonhap News

◆Hamburger and golf enthusiast Trump, after brother’s death: "No drinking, smoking, drugs, or tattoos"

A study published last year in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition analyzed the lifestyles of over 276,000 male and female U.S. veterans and found that adopting eight healthy behaviors could extend lifespan by up to 24 years. The eight behaviors are ▲eating a healthy diet ▲engaging in regular physical activity ▲getting sufficient sleep ▲managing stress ▲maintaining strong relationships ▲not smoking ▲avoiding drug abuse (including narcotics) ▲not drinking excessively. The study calculated that veterans who followed all eight behaviors could live to about 87 years old.

However, many experts say, "Even if you do everything right, you still may not live to 100." To become a centenarian, ancestral help is needed because genetic factors become more important with age. The New York Times published a feature article on the 8th titled "What Matters More for Longevity: Genes or Lifestyle?" According to the report, scientists believe that "about 25% of how long we live is due to genetics and 75% to environment and lifestyle." But Dr. Thomas Perls of Boston University says that after 100 years, this ratio begins to reverse. In fact, many long-lived people do not have healthier habits than the average American?they enjoy alcohol, smoking, and processed foods. Nevertheless, they live longer and have lower rates of age-related diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and dementia.

Elderly people walking in the park in front of a private senior town. Photo by Jo Yong-jun

◆You can live to 90 with effort, but reaching 100 is like winning the lottery

The NYT quoted experts saying, "Having the right set of genes for longevity is like winning the lottery. Even if your mother lived to 100, you should still practice good behaviors in case you don’t hit the genetic jackpot," adding, "And whatever you do, don’t take health advice from centenarians. Lifestyle probably didn’t matter much to them. For the rest of us, it really matters."