Mary Josephine Ray died at 114 years of age on March 7 2010, AP photo
People are living longer – especially the ladies, or so it seems! Mary Josephine Ray held the record for the oldest person in the U.S. from September 11 2009 to her death yesterday, March 7 2010; this may seem an incredible age but there are a number of ladies (and a few men) who live to be over 100. In fact, Mary Josephine Ray’s grandmother lived to be 97; she died in 1909, when people were statistically not living as long as they do today.
So why do women (in general) live longer than men? Although there are no hard facts, a couple of reasons cited include the difference in the probability of certain diseases and the fact that men, in general, engage in ‘riskier’ activities than women.
The usual reasons – taking exercise, a balanced diet, plenty of sleep, not smoking and lack of stress – are given as the ’secret’ to a long life; good genes seem to play a part too. However, stress, a modern day ‘disease’ which affects the health of many appears to be one of the major factors to life being cut short; those who can overcome stress do apparently have the capacity to live longer. 
For the full report on Mary Josephine Ray read:
Oldest person in the U.S., Mary Josephine Ray, dies at age 114
