Meet José Flores, 119, who still walks, smiles and eats well
José Flores, a 119-year-old man from Costa Rica, is highlighted as potentially the oldest person on the planet, living in good health despite precarious conditions. His story sheds light on 'blue zones' where people live exceptionally long lives.
Why it matters
Flores's story offers a rare glimpse into extreme longevity and the factors that might contribute to it, particularly in 'blue zones', providing insights for health and lifestyle research.
There are five specific zones in the world where people live exceptionally long, for hundreds of years even with the lack of availability of good quality and equal resources. Among them is Jose Flores, who was born 119 years ago, according to Costa Rica's civil registry, was born on July 11, 1907, to a woman named Josefa in the province of Guanacaste, on the country's north Pacific coast.Everyone born in that first decade of the 20th century and many who were born years later are no more. But Flores still lives in good health in a rural municipality located on the edge of a 'blue zone'.
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