by Renée Onque – CNBC
Most people are lucky to live to 100, but two women lived far beyond that, joining the ranks of the world’s oldest people — and they’re both from France.
Jeanne Calment is believed to be the world’s oldest person on record, gracing the Earth for 122 years. And recently, a French nun named Sister André was the oldest person in the world until Jan. 17, when she passed at the age of 118.
It’s hard to pinpoint what exactly helps people live beyond age 100, considering the varying behaviors of supercentenarians, says Jean-Marie Robine, an expert demographer who studies the relationship between health and longevity.
But there are certain factors that may give France the upper-hand on longevity, says Robine, who is also a research director at the Institut National De La Sante et de La Recherche Medicale (INSERM) in France.
