At 100: iPods, fast food & surfing the Web

Washington: They watch MTV, surf the Web, have iPods, play video games and eat at fast food restaurants.

And, no, they're not your average US teenager, but people over the age of 100 who shared the secrets of their longevity for a study released on Tuesday by Evercare, a health provider for the elderly in the United States.

"To stay in tune has health benefits," said Sherri Snelling, director of Evercare, which questioned 100 centenarians for the survey. "These centenarians do know about current trends.

"Whether or not they are utilising them, they understand what is current in our society."

Apart from staying on top of the latest trends, those questioned said healthy lifestyles and religious faith kept them young. They also emphasised that maintaining the brain was also very important in keeping them going.

Snelling said the phone survey conducted in February provides an insight into the lives of a small but growing segment of the population.

"It gives us a snapshot and useful anecdotal information that will help us understand what it is that keeps Americans healthy, happy and independent in getting older," she said.

Of the 70 women and 30 men questioned in the second annual survey, 70 per cent still live at home and, like the rest of their fellow US citizens, say they follow the newest fads like reality television, video games and iPods, all the while keeping up with current events.

Sixty eight per cent said they rely on television as their primary source of news while 40 per cent said they still read newspapers. Only 10 per cent use the radio for information.