Amish people typically have a similar lifespan to the general population. On average, they live into their 70s or even 80s. Their lifestyle, which includes healthy eating and physical activity from farming and manual labor, can contribute to their longevity.
They smoke less, so they have fewer smoking-related health issues.
However, like anyone else, individual lifespans can vary depending on genetics, healthcare access, and other factors.
Historically, back in 1900, Amish people had a life expectancy of over 70 years, which was significantly higher compared to the average American life expectancy of 47 years at that time.
How the Amish Stay Healthy in Old Age
The Amish do a lot of physical work on their farms without using machines, which keeps them active and healthy.
They walk a lot, about 15,000 steps daily. They’re six times more active than people from many other countries.
This keeps them in good shape, with only 4% of Amish people being obese, compared to 41.9% of the overall U.S. population.
Smoking is very rare among the Amish, which leads to a 63% lower rate of tobacco-related cancers. They also have lower rates of all cancers compared to the rest of the population.
The Amish and Longevity Genes
The Amish in the U.S. are descended from a small group of families that came to America in the 1700s. They tend to marry within their own community, so their genes have stayed pretty much the same over the generations.
Luckily, they seem to have good genes, which is a big factor in their long and healthy lives.
In one Amish group in Indiana, scientists at Northwestern University found a special gene, called PAI-1 that seems to slow down aging.
PAI-1 seems to be linked to living 10% longer than people who don’t have this gene.
This gene gives the Amish 10% longer telomeres which are like markers of aging, and helps protect against diseases like diabetes and heart problems.
Think of telomeres as the caps on the end of your shoelaces. Over time, they naturally wear down, just like how our bodies age. Longer telomeres are associated with slower aging.
This PAI-1 gene isn’t just about living longer. It also brings other benefits such as better insulin levels (which is important for controlling blood sugar), lower blood pressure, and more flexible arteries (which means healthier blood vessels).
However, these findings are about one specific group of Amish people, and it might not be the same for all Amish communities. But for those who do have it, they have an extra advantage when it comes to aging and staying healthy.
Another study published in the National Library of Medecine title “Heritability of life span in the Old Order Amish” found that the Amish lived to be around 70.7 years old (+/- 15.6 years), and this didn’t change much over time.
Researchers studied 1,655 Amish individuals born before 1890 who lived to at least 30 years old and had known death dates.
They found that if parents lived longer, their children tended to live longer too. This connection between parents and children’s lifespans seemed to add up, meaning if both parents lived longer, their children tended to live even longer.
They estimated that genes (genetics) play a role in about 25% of the differences in how long people live in the Amish community they studied.
This suggests that genetics have a moderate impact on lifespan, and these genetic effects seem to add up over generations.