A diet high in fish, fruits and vegetables and low in sugar and sodium may help explain the longevity of centenarians’ children, according to a new study.

The study is the first to take a comprehensive look at the dietary habits of centenarians’ offspring who share their parents’ longevity genes and many of their life environments, scientists at Tufts University say.

More people are living a full 100 years now than in previous generations , prompting researchers to look into the health secrets of their longevity.

While genetics contributes about 50 per cent of the variability in age at death, factors like nutrition also play a major role.

The new study looked for patterns in the offspring of centenarians that could help everyone, regardless of genetic lineage, live longer lives.

"Nutrition is an impactful, non-genetic factor that is under someone's control that could influence how long they live and how long they live a healthy life," said Erfei Zhao, author of the study published in the journal Science…