When the Duke of Kabeteshire Sir Charles Njonjo clocked 100 years old, he revealed that the secret to his long-living was eating healthy and keeping fit. 112-year-old Chitetsu Watanabe, recognized as the world’s oldest living man by Guinness World Records, has shared his secret to long life and it is not the usual eat the healthy type of thing.
To celebrate his birthday next month, he was presented with an early birthday present from Guinness World Records, an official certificate confirming that he is the world’s oldest living man was handed to him at a nursing home in Niigata Japan, where he currently resides.
Born to a family of eight on March 5, 1907, he is the oldest of eight children. He started off his career working for a sugar company for many years, before working in a Japanese government agriculture office until he retired. He was also in the military in 1944 near the end of World War II, according to Guinness. The old man was blessed with five children and after his retirement together with his son started growing fruits and vegetables of all kinds at the farm from potatoes, tomatoes, strawberries, plums, until he was 104 years of age.
Having worked in a sugar company for years his love for sweet things particularly brown sugar only stopped when he lost his teeth and had to resort to sweets that don’t need a lot of chewing, like custard pudding or the cream.
In an interview last year, Watanabe said his secret to longevity is “not to get angry and keep a smile on your face.”
“I’ve lived together with him for over 50 years, and I’ve never seen him raise his voice or get mad. He’s also caring. When I was working on my patchwork hobby, he was the one who praised my work the most. I think having lived with a big family under one roof, mingling with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren helped keep a smile on his face as well,” said his son’s wife.
Although old age has taken a toll on him, his daily activity included exercises, calligraphy, and math exercises.