14 DAY TRIAL // Costa Rica is a developing country. Hence the fact that, for the time being, heath care spending per person is merely a fraction of that in other countries such as the United States.
Still, people living in this part of the world somehow outlive those who enjoy state-of-the-art health care.
What's more, those inhabiting Costa Rica's Nicoya Peninsula appear to live some 2-3 years longer than those in other parts of the country, whose average life expectancy is one of 82 years.
Scientists explain that, according to their investigations, Nicoyans live longer due to the fact that the protective caps at the end of their chromosomes, i.e. telomeres, are longer than those of other individuals.
This makes it possible for their cells to continue properly dividing for longer periods of time, thus slowing down the process of biological aging, Nature explains.
Oddly enough, the poorest Nicoyans were also the ones who had the longest telometers, which means that they lived the longest.
Researchers are currently unable to say how it is exactly that poverty ups these people's life expectancy.
More so given the fact that their overall health condition was actually worse than that of Costa Ricans living outside the Nicoya Peninsula.
Hopefully, future investigations will help shed more light on this issue.