Research shows eating meat daily boosts your chances of reaching 100.

Research shows eating meat daily boosts your chances of reaching 100.

New advice on eating for a long life often highlights plant-based diets, but new research from China suggests meat may also play a role in helping some people reach their 100th birthday.

Drawing on health data from more than 5000 adults who were at least 80 years old in 1998 and had no major chronic diseases, researchers found that those who ate meat were more likely to become centenarians than those who followed largely plant-based diets.

This effect was especially clear among people who were underweight, defined as having a body mass index below 18.5. In that group, about 24 per cent of vegetarians reached 100, compared with nearly 30 per cent of meat eaters, with daily meat consumption linked to even higher odds of living to 100. The pattern did not hold for people of higher body weight.

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