Lydia Newton from the U.S. State of Arizona belongs to a small but growing club. At age 112, she is one of an estimated 180,000 people around the world who are a hundred years and older. Newton is also one of the 26 centenarians participating in the second Seventh-day Adventist Health Study conducted by researchers at the California based School of Public Health, Loma Linda University, in partnership with Oakwood College and the Seventh-day Adventist church in USA and Canada.

The school is researching the link between diet and cancer as well as healthy aging, says Dr. Terry Butler, an epidemiology professor at the school and a senior researcher working on the project. "What is quality of life and what helps people [like Newton] live longer?" he asks.

For the past four years information has been collected to analyze the various diets and lifestyles of Adventists. So far there are about 75,000 participants, but the goal is to get 125,000 involved.

From the first Adventist Health Study, which took place in the 1970s, the medical community has learned that eating plenty of fruits and vegetables reduces the risk of cancer, and nuts reduce the risk of heart disease.

The study is not about Adventists, says DeWitt Williams, health ministries director for the church in North America, where the study is taking place. Adventists were chosen because its members are varied but often don't smoke or drink coffee. Most studies have to make adjustments for these "confounding" elements, Williams says.

"I think ... the Adventist lifestyle has tremendous advantages, and that is something to highlight, but that is not the focus [of this study]," Butler adds.

Another unique element of the study, which is funded by the National Cancer Institute, is that it will be the first to include a large number of African Americans -- the target is 45,000. Because African Americans are more affected by diabetes, prostate cancer, obesity and sickle cell anemia, the study is important for this group, Williams says.

While the initial grant specified that study participants would live in the United States, Butler says Canada was added in January with the hope to meet the 125,000 participant goal.

Butler says he is hoping to get at least another 25,000 Adventists to sign up for the study by Nov. 1 to ensure continued funding for the analysis phase of the project.

There is a misperception or misunderstanding that appears to discourage some Adventists from joining Butler says. Some members think they will spoil the study because they eat meat or drink alcohol, or don't exercise or are overweight, or are in poor health. That is not true, Butler affirms. He explains the only way to "spoil" the study is by not joining or by giving incorrect or biased information.

Butler says the questionnaire, which will take about two hours to fill out, is a "wonderful opportunity to witness. This is an opportunity in one year to do [a few] hours of volunteer work and change people's lives for the better. The only major commitment we are asking from people is the initial questionnaire. After that, every two years we'll send out very short follow-up questionnaires."

Every year a report is sent to participants. While there has been no in-depth analysis yet, descriptive information such as race, gender, education and what participants eat has been collected.

The number of women participating in the study is almost twice as many as the number of men. About 34 percent of participants have a post-graduate degree. The largest number of participants range in age from 45 to 64 years old. Seventy-five percent to 78 percent of participants do not drink coffee at all, while a little more than 10 percent drink it about five times a week. [Editors: Taashi Rowe and Christian B. Schaeffler for ANN/APD]

For more information about the study or to enroll visit www.adventisthealthstudy.org