Positive outlook crucial to long life, doctor says

At age 98, Shigeaki Hinohara is a celebrity with a message

By Amy O'Brian, Vancouver Sun

August 31, 2009



Shigeaki Hinohara's recipe for a long and healthy life has served him well. But it's a recipe full of hard work and self-control, which might not appeal to everyone.

The 98-year-old isn't among those who swear that a nightly shot of whisky or a daily swim in an icy lake is the secret to a long life.

Instead, the man believed to be the world's oldest and longest-practising doctor says staying productive and having a positive outlook on life are among the most important ingredients to a long and healthy life.

Hinohara is something of a celebrity in his native country of Japan, where he still works long days as a physician at St. Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo.

But while he's visiting Vancouver this week, the good doctor will be learning, rather than lecturing or treating the ill.

Hinohara is here with 30 members of his Society of New Elderly Citizens, an association of people over the age of 75 who are committed to exploring and learning as they age.

Simon Fraser University is hosting the group of energetic seniors, who will be participating in a film study workshop, a B.C. wine seminar and English classes during their weeklong visit.

When SFU's Project JAPAN director, Toshimi Ono, first suggested the trip to Hinohara two years ago -- when he was 96 years old -- he told her he'd have to check his three-year diary.

"He likes to plan ahead," she laughed.

"He's always very positive and forward-thinking."

According to an interview Hinohara did recently with the Japan Times, his schedule is booked through to 2014 with lectures and his regular hospital work.

"In 2016, I'll have some fun, though. I plan to attend the Tokyo Olympics," he told the newspaper. He will be 105 years by that point.

Ono first met Hinohara about 10 years ago when her mother was dying from cancer in Tokyo. She was being cared for at St. Luke's and Hinohara happened to be her doctor.

"He was very tender and gentle," Ono said. "And he was very famous already, but I didn't know. I had no idea."

Hinohara has worked at the hospital since 1941 and has been a pioneer in the Japanese hospice movement.

Ono says Hinohara comes to her with some of his grand ideas, including one a few years ago for a musical for children with terminal illnesses.

"I never thought he would actually do it," she said.

But Hinohara made it happen, putting one of his favourite children's stories to music and getting the production to the stage.

Hinohara sleeps only three to five hours a night and has said he works 18 hours a day, seven days a week.

He has written 150 books since the age of 75, one of which has sold 1.2 million copies. And he eats very little -- his breakfast consisting only of a cup of coffee, a glass of milk, and a glass of orange juice with a tablespoon of olive oil.

He notes regularly in interviews that the one thing shared by all people who live to a ripe old age is that they are not overweight.

And while exercise and a good diet are important, he maintains that the most important things to living well and living long are a positive attitude and a never-ending desire to learn and explore.

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