At the current time there is no scientific or even good non-scientific evidence to believe any claims for super-longevity are valid. The claims of the people of Vilcabamba were refuted by RB Mazess in1979 and1982. The claims of the people of the Caucasus arose due to age exageration on the part of individuals attempting to avoid serving in the military and for the political reasons of promoting the image of "superiority" of people from that region (where Stalin was born).
To the best of our knowledge all claims for super-longevity based on regions where individuals live and/or the diets they consume are completely bogus. That is not to say however that proper diet and exercise do not significantly impact health and longevity. However a proper guideline may be that poor diet and lack of exercise are likely to diminish ones probability of reaching ones maximum potential lifespan rather than provide additional years beyond ones maximum potential lifespan. (The maximum potential lifespan has significant genetic and environmental components.) It should be expected that people living in the super-longevity regions should experience a greater level of cancer due to the higher altitudes at which they live (due to increased exposure to cosmic rays). However this may be counteracted by a combination of increased exercise (having to regularly ascend or descend mountainous terrain) and perhaps limited food resources contributing to a form of caloric restriction (which is well-documented to extend lifespan).
Here are the current human longevity records.
WrittenOn the Web
- Nusselder, W., Compression or Expansion of Morbidity. Thesis Publishers, Amsterdam (1998).
- Wilmoth, J.R. (1997), "In search of limits" Pp. 38-65 in K.W. Wachter en C.E. Finch (Eds.) Between Zeus and the Salmon. The Biodemography of Longevity. Washington, D.C., National Research Council, National Academy Press (1997).
- Jeune, B. "In search of first centenarians", Pp 11-25 in J.W. Vaupel (Eds.), Exceptional Longevity: From Prehistory to the Present. Odense, Odense University Press (1995).
- Kannisto, V., Development of Oldest-Old Mortality, 1950-1990: Evidence from 28 Developed Countries. Odense, Odense University Press (1994).
- Allard, M., V. Lèbre et J-M. Robine. Les 120 Ans de Jeanne Calment, Doyenne de L'Humanité. Le Cherche Midi Éditeur, Paris (1994).
- Walker, M., "Secrets of Long Life" (1983).
- Mazess, R. B., "Health and Lonveity in Vilcabamba, Ecuador", JAMA (1978).
[??? does not seem to be listed in Medline/PubMed.]- Halsell, G., "Los Viejos: Secrets of Long Life from the Savred Valley" (1976).
- Davies, D., The Centenarians of the Andes, Barrie and Jenkins, Ltd., London (1975).
- Leaf, A., "Every Day is a Gift When you are over 100", National Geographic (Jan 1973).
- Davies, D., "A Shangri-La in Ecuador", New Scientist (1973).
- Payne, E. H. "Islands of Immunity".
- Clark, J., Hunza: Lost Kingdom of the Himalayas, Hutchinson, London (1957).
- Bourgeois-Pichat, J., "Essai sur la mortalité de l'homme", Population 7(3), 381-394 (1952).
- Wowzone, "Oldest Person in the World...", Wowzone (1997...2004). Includes comments by Robert Young, Senior Claims Investigator of the Gerontology Research Group.
- Jeune, B., "In Search of the First Centenarians" (~Mar 2000?)
- Carey, J. R., Human Development 19: "Life Cycles, Kinship and Growth in Human Populations": "Aging", U.C. Davis (1999).
- Weon, B. M., "Mortality decrease and mathematical limit of longevity" (~2004).
- Wilmoth, J. R., "Demogragphy of longevity: past, present and future trends", Exp. Gerontology 35:1111-1129 (2000).
- Wikipedia: Talk: Longevity Myths (18 Jan 2004)
- Nationmaster Encyclopedia: Longevity Myths (wiki alternative).
- The Okinawa Centenarian Study: Centenarians
- Visitors Guide to Vilcabamba
- Valley of Longevity (Ecuador): vacation packages