The President's 7 Most Important Habits for Longevity

Welcome to the Centennial Club, Jimmy Carter.

The longest-living president in U.S. history turns 100 on Tuesday, October 1, making him the first commander in chief to reach the century mark.

Carter was active until his late 90s and demonstrated remarkable stamina. He is a survivor of cancer, a series of falls and the death of his beloved wife of 77 years, Rosalynn.

When he entered hospice in February 2023, his family thought he only had a few days to live. But Carter continues to spend his remaining time at home in Plains, Georgia, foregoing additional medical procedures.

His last public appearance was at his wife's funeral in Atlanta in November 2023.

Jimmy Carter today

There has been “virtually no change” in the former president's condition since he entered hospice care 19 months ago, his grandson Jason Carter told NBC News' Atlanta affiliate 11Alive on Friday, Sept. 27.

In an interview with Boston Public Radio in early September, he described Jimmy Carter as doing well but “very weakened physically.” Emotionally and mentally, the former president is “still there and participating in the world,” he added.

“When my grandmother died, he was honored and happy to have been with her until the end, but I think he had a real low point for a few months,” Jason Carter said.

“And lately he’s become much more involved in politics and the news and emotionally connected to all of us.”

Jimmy Carter told his family that he wanted to vote in this year's presidential election.

Having such a goal can be “a pretty powerful factor” in helping someone live longer, says Dr. Thomas Perls, a geriatrician and professor at Boston University's Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine who studies longevity.

“That purpose in life and what he said about wanting to at least get through the election is really, really inspiring and I think it's really important to him,” Perls told TODAY.com.

“He has amazing resilience that has gotten him this far.”

Why Jimmy Carter is living in hospice longer than expected

Patients enter hospice when doctors believe they have six months or less to live, Dr. BJ Miller, a hospice and palliative care physician in San Francisco, previously told TODAY.com. He doesn't treat Carter.

The focus is on comfort care to relieve any suffering, including medications to relieve pain, nausea or anxiety.

But it's very difficult for doctors to determine exactly how much time a terminally ill patient has left, so they always have to make guesses, Miller noted.

It's “not uncommon” for people like Carter to live longer in hospice care than expected, Miller said. He has seen it many times in his own practice.

“It really shows that we’re not in charge,” Carter’s grandson said.

Jimmy Carter health

The former president has a complicated family history.

His mother lived to be 85, but his father died of pancreatic cancer at 58. Both his sisters and brother also died of pancreatic cancer, and his mother also had the disease, NBC News reported.

In 2015, Carter was diagnosed with melanoma that had spread to his liver and brain. He received immunotherapy with Keytruda – a then-new cancer drug – was treated with radiation to his brain and had a large tumor in his liver removed. Scans showed no evidence of the cancer within months.

In 2019, he suffered a series of falls that resulted in broken bones and required surgery.

Jimmy Carter's Longevity Habits

Perls, who leads the New England Centenarian Study, estimates that about 10% of people can live to be 100 years old.

Such longevity requires a complex combination of genes, behaviors, environments and coincidences over many years and situations, says Howard Friedman, Ph.D., author of “The Longevity Project” and professor emeritus of psychology at the University of California, Riverside .

Some key patterns that play a role in longevity may apply to Carter, he adds.

Here are some of the lessons of the president's long life:

Sense of purpose

Carter and his wife were known to be active in the community, helping to build, renovate and repair more than 4,300 homes in 14 countries while volunteering with Habitat for Humanity since 1984.

The former president wrote in one of his books that he enjoyed his work.

“Community engagement tells you that you want to live and help other people,” Valter Longo, Ph.D., professor of gerontology at the University of Southern California and director of the USC Longevity Institute in Los Angeles, previously told TODAY.com.

“In the end, that’s what gets you out of bed.”

Always looking for new challenges

After leaving the White House, the former president and his wife founded the Carter Center in Atlanta to advance human rights and alleviate human suffering.

As part of this mission, he traveled around the world, wrote books and volunteered.

Carter learned to ski at 62, his wife revealed when the couple was interviewed for the book “What Makes a Marriage Last.”

“Jimmy doesn’t just want to learn something, he wants it Do her,” Rosalynn Carter said.

Strong family ties

Carter and his wife were married for 77 years – the longest married couple in presidential history. Carter called it “a full partnership.”

“Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished,” Carter said in a statement when she died on November 19, 2023.

“She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew someone loved and supported me.”

During Rosalynn Carter's tribute, the couple's daughter, Amy Carter, read a love letter the former president wrote to his wife 75 years earlier.

“My darling, every time I was away from you, I was thrilled to come back and discover how wonderful you are,” part of the letter reads. “When I see you, I fall in love with you all over again.”

Their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren complete the close-knit family.

Regular exercise

Carter was an avid runner until he was 80 and developed knee problems, so he switched to swimming and walking, he told The Washington Post in 2013 and 2018.

He and Mrs. Carter enjoyed riding bicycles around their hometown and while traveling domestically and internationally. According to his biography, the former president also loved fly fishing and woodworking.

A pattern of physical activity over long periods of time that keeps a person moving is important for longevity, Friedman emphasizes. This doesn't necessarily have to be a formal exercise, but can also involve activities such as farming, construction projects and being on the move, he adds.

At least 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day is one of five habits that can help people live longer, a study in Circulation found. The other habits were never smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, moderate alcohol consumption, and eating a healthy diet.

Open-minded personality

Centenarians tend to be extroverts, meaning they are able to develop friendships and healthy social networks, says Perls.

This means they are more cognitively active, less lonely, and have someone to turn to when they need help.

“Certainly President Carter was as gregarious as one can be and probably the most caring and compassionate president I have ever known in my life,” notes Perls.

A viral video showed a 92-year-old Carter shaking hands with all the passengers on a plane as he boarded the flight.

People who live long lives also tend to have a conscientious, reliable and prudent personality that only gets stronger as the years go by, Friedman adds.

Resilience

The former president has survived health setbacks, the death of his wife and more than a year and a half in hospice.

“It speaks to its durability,” says Perls, an important factor in longevity.

Mental resilience is about developing a long-term pattern of persistence, purpose, and positive social relationships, Friedman adds.

Believe

Since leaving the White House in 1981 until 2020, Carter regularly taught Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife attended services.

“Our religious beliefs are important to us,” the former president wrote in one of his books.

Spirituality can focus on gratitude and often means interacting with other helpful, healthy, and positive people, Friedman emphasizes.

Faith could also help Carter better deal with stress, Perls says.

It can be a source of meaning and belonging, which is good for the body and soul, Miller added.

“We can push and nudge the body in all sorts of ways to keep going. But if there's no spark, if there's no reason to live, if there's no joy in life,” he says, that doesn't help much. “These are essential ingredients for life.”