101-year-old Marge Jetton is a lady of longevity. She still drives a car, and just recently renewed her license for another five years. Jetton comes from a town known for its health habits, a place called “America’s longest-living community.”

Here in Loma Linda, there was a large number of Seventh-day Adventists who live four to 10 years longer than the average Californian.

Jetton is one of 41 people over the age of 100 who are participating in the Adventist Health Study, and one of several featured in the November issue of National Geographic magazine and in the United States on ABC News.

“That makes the Adventists one of the nation’s most convincing cultures of longevity,” writes Dan Buettner, author of the National Geographic article “The Secrets of Living Longer.”

Why do they live longer? The answer to that question is the main goal of the health study, which began in 2002 and, unlike previous studies, encompasses all of the United States and Canada. Dr. Terry Butler, an associate director of the study at Loma Linda University, says “Many people are still wondering about some of the causes of major diseases confronting us here in the U.S. and around the world in many developed countries.”

He adds, “We believe that Adventists have a lot of the answers to those unanswered questions, particularly in relation to diet. Adventists are a unique and special group when it comes to studies of diet and disease and longevity. We believe Adventists will help answer some of those questions.”

He says there is compelling evidence from Loma Linda’s various studies and from other studies around the world that show the Adventist lifestyle and health focus has benefits.

“Why do the National Institutes of Health invest millions of dollars in studies of the Adventists? There is an interest in health. We want to do good, to benefit others. But there’s also a wide diversity in our diet. We have vegans, lacto-ovo vegetarians, and omnivores. Nowhere in a discreet population do you get that diversity in diet,” Butler explains.

It’s been more difficult than originally expected to collect data. “People these days are a bit weary of doing questionnaires,” he says, noting, however, that in the past Adventists have been responsive in completing questionnaires and health studies. There are currently 85,000 participants in the study; Dr. Butler hopes to get at least 100,000.

Is there an element of faith involved that contributes to living a longer life? Some say yes; others say there’s no proven medical benefit to religious practices. Some, like the group in California, keep doing what they’re doing, which, for Jetton, means cruising the highway and working out every day.