ThisBougieLife,
I've lived in Japan for almost 10 years and I am always amazed at the number of healthy, active people here who are in their 70's and 80's and sometimes 90's. One of the reasons that Japan has the longest life expectancy in the world is their diet. A traditional Japanese diet is healthy and portion sizes are typically small. As well, living in Japan forces you to walk more than you would for example in America, even if you have a car. I also think a lot of it is cultural. People here typically live with their family and so you will see several generations living in one house. The older generation will normally work around the house or do things to help the household (like doing laundry, washing the dishes, cooking, babysitting, etc). Also in their free time, many old timers have lots of hobbies like playing the game of go, playing Japanese chess, or they do something artist to keep their minds active (like Japanese calligraphy or flower arranging). I have a Japanese friend who is 85 and he goes to the gym everyday and does aerobics. Simply amazing. From my experience retired people here are more active both physically and mentally than people are in America (sorry I only have experience with America and so I can't compare with Europe or other places).
