

Woman who is clearly going to live a long life.

(Photo credit: Philippe Regard/Getty Images)

A prominent British anthropologist has completed a ground-breaking, 10-year study proving that women who wear less clothing live up to 20 years longer. And the fewer clothes they wear, the longer they live. Writing in the Royal Journal of Social Anthropology, Sir Edwin Burkhart presents the results of over 5,000 interviews with women ages 70 to 120. It's clear from the interviews and graphs shown that those women at the older end of the spectrum consistently wore either fewer clothes throughout their lifetime -- or no clothing at all!

Philomena Bushfield, 120, is a life-long nudist who hasn't "worn more than a pair of socks since I was 7." She is rarely sick, still runs in marathons, and has the energy and enthusiasm of a woman half her age. "It also made it much easier to meet men," says Bushfield, who currently has three different boyfriends.

Liz Sexton, 117, was a strip-tease artist for most of her life. "I was stripping until I was 83," recalls Sexton. "Didn't even need to wear a bra till I was 95." To this day, Sexton wouldn't wear clothing if you paid her. "Your skin can't breathe with all that covering. And besides, I like to feel the cool air whistling over and under my yah-yahs."

A retired Biblical scholar, Beverly McKinnon, 112, took to dressing like the Garden of Eden's Eve early on. "I've found it so comfortable to wear my three strategically-positioned fig leaves," McKinnon says. "It's my connection to the Bible, to man and woman's origin, and to getting a lifetime's worth of appreciative hoots and whistles from the men of my village." McKinnon recently returned from her fourth expedition to climb Mount Everest.

As to why wearing less clothing should extend the lives of women, Burkhart has several theories that he explores in great detail in the journal's study. These include:

The fact that much of modern-day clothing contains chemical residuals from dry cleaners and laundry detergents that, combined with human sweat, find their way into the skin and contribute to various life-shortening cancers.

Women with fewer clothes attract more men and therefore are more likely to get married. Married people live longer and healthier lives.

The fewer clothes women wear, the more their bodies are exposed to nature's elements, which are life-enhancing.

Women wearing fewer clothes tend to be more independent, intelligent, free-thinkers who invariably take better care of themselves in all other aspects of their lives.

The frequency and quality of sexual activity tends to be greater for women wearing fewer clothes -- and sex has been proven to be a life-enhancer.

As a result of Burkhart's findings, the British government is considering making public nudity legal and is strongly urging all women in the meantime to wear as little clothing as possible.