What are the Secrets to a Long, Healthy Life? From Japan's Longest-Lived Prefecture, Nagano

From a report about an event for HPVs in the entire Nagano Prefecture.
Copyright Nagano Prefecture All Rights Reserved.

Building a society with a healthy lifestyle, where even the elderly can lead active lives, is a central challenge worldwide. As of 2014, the average lifespan in Japan for both men and women, is the world's longest -- men there live 80.50 years on average, while women top them at 86.83 years.

Among Japan's 47 prefectures, Nagano has the longest average life expectancy for both men and women. It leads Japan not only in terms of average life expectancy, but has also garnered attention for "healthy life expectancy," meaning the number of years a person can live a normal life without nursing care or, worse, becoming bedridden. This is a crucial concept for promoting wellbeing among the elderly. Nagano ranks among the best in terms of healthy life expectancy in Japan. While Japan tops the world in longevity, Nagano's citizens enjoy the longest and the healthiest life span in this country. What are Nagano's secrets?

One secret is that Nagano, whose population exceeds two million, has over 10,000 health promotion volunteers organized throughout the prefecture who work every day. In this article, we will introduce initiatives of theirs that are indispensable to Nagano's healthy community building.

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