Saudi Arabia’s ‘oldest man’ has reportedly died at the age of 142, leaving behind 134 children and grandchildren.
Nasser bin Radan Al Rashid Al Wadaei passed away on January 8 in Riyadh, according to local reports.
Funeral prayers were held in Dhahran Al Janoub, where more than 7,000 people attended, before he was buried in his home village of Al Rashid.
According to Saudi media, Al Wadaei was born in 1884, the same year construction began on the Statue of Liberty and before the unification of Saudi Arabia.
He is believed to have lived through multiple monarchs and eras from the founding leader King Abdulaziz to King Salman.
His family said that he performed the Hajj pilgrimage more than 40 times and was greatly devoted to his religion.
He is reportedly survived by 134 children and grandchildren.
At the age of 110, Al Wadaei married for the last time and later had a daughter.
What does an expert say?
Due to Saudi Arabia having an average life expectancy of roughly 78, there have been some questions surrounding if their ‘oldest man’ could really be 142 years old.
Chair of the British Society for Research on Ageing (BSRA), Professor David Weinkove, told Metro: ‘It seems very unlikely that this person [Al Wadaei] was really 142 years old.
‘No one can really know for certain because in a lot of parts of the world, they don’t have good records going back that far.’
Prof Weinkove explained that one of the fundamentals of ageing is that the older you are, the faster you age.
He said: ‘So when you get to around 100, your chance of making it to the next year, to 101, is roughly 50%, so it’s like tossing a coin.
‘It’s not impossible because there’s always a chance, but it’s like tossing a coin 40 times in a row and always landing on heads.’
But is there a secret to living until you are 142?
There have been many so-called secrets to living a long and healthy life with one woman claiming her secret was a little drop of whiskey every night.
Although experts do not know of one be all and end all secret to living for so long, they do know that there are some factors that can help.
Prof Weinkove said: ‘It’s difficult to talk about the secrets for specific individuals, but overall we do know things that are likely to help us live longer, and that’s not smoking, not drinking too much, having a good diet, a balanced diet, not eating too much because I think that’s a clear thing that’s not good for longevity or health.’
Currently, Saudi Arabia is experiencing significant population ageing, with the older adult demographic expected to grow rapidly as the birth rate drops.
Prof Weinkove said: ‘So it’s possible that someone could be very long-lived in Saudi Arabia.
But 142, I think, is a little bit too much to be believable.’
The ten (verified) oldest people in the world
- Jeanne Calment from France – 122 years old
- Kane Tanaka from Japan – 119 years old
- Sarah Knauss from US – 119 years old
- Lucile Randon from France – 118 years old
- Nabi Tajima from Japan – 117 years old
- Jiroemon Kimura from Japan – 116 years old
- Christian Mortensen from US – 115 years old
- Emiliano Mercado del Toro – 115 years old
- Juan Vicente Pérez – 114 years old
- Horacio Celi Mendoza – 114 years old
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