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Women living in Hong Kong today have the longest life expectancy in the world. Overtaking Japan, now they reach almost 87 years of age. 

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Anna Coren talked to some seniors to find out what keeps them young. 

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As one of the most densely populated cities in the world, it's hard to imagine how Hong Kong, with its high intensity, stress and pollution, could possibly add years to your life. 

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But it just so happens that its female residents have not only learned but mastered the secret to aging.

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At one of the city's elderly community centers, 89-year-old Lee Wai Fong defies age and gravity at a daily dance class. 

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I ask her how she's so energetic. 

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"From exercise and a healthy body," she tells me. "It should be this way."

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Mrs. Lee is not the exception, but the rule. 

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A study by the Japanese government has found women in Hong Kong live the longest in the world with an average life expectancy of 86.7 years, 

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overtaking Japan, which held the title for 25 years.

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That's good news to Hong Kong people, yeah. I think, through my observation of female members, they are quite active. I think these are important factors.

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Lee Suk Ching is testament to that. 

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At 101, she walks with a cane unaided, reads a newspaper with a magnifying glass and visits the center each day to catch up with friends and share a meal. 

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"I'm healthy because I exercise," she explains. "It makes me happy."

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Dr. Bernard Kong, president of the Hong Kong Geriatric Society, is not surprised by the results, 

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citing a good public health system that looks after its senior citizens.

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The last few decades we have very good scientific and also medical advances in Hong Kong. And also we're keeping our tradition as basically Chinese culture.

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Whether it be diet, genetics or medical advances, health professionals agree 

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that one key factor that sets Hong Kong's elderly apart is the importance of family within the Chinese culture. 

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An overwhelming majority live with their children or grandchildren with only around 10 percent living on their own. 

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Well, that is a fraction compared to other developed cities, 

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like London or New York, where up to 40 percent of the elderly live by themselves and are at risk of social isolation.

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Hong Kong men lag behind their women with a life expectancy of 80 years of age. And this gap doesn't look like [it's] changing any time soon. 

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We depend on people to look after us. Women, maybe, they are the one[s] who take care of us. 

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And we... and when women disappear, then our chance of mortality is much higher.

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Most of these women have outlived their husbands. And for 94-year-old Yeung Wai Hing, the past is painful. 

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She lived through war and has loved and lost more times than she'd care to remember, but her positive attitude has got her through it. 

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"I live happy no matter what," she says. "You will live each day, why not be happy?"