Oldest living Icelandic twins celebrate 96th birthday

Svanhildur Snæbjörnsdóttir and Hlaðgerður Sveinbjörnsdóttir.

Svanhildur Snæbjörnsdóttir and Hlaðgerður Sveinbjörnsdóttir. mbl.is/Kristinn Magnússon

 The oldest living twins in Iceland celebrated their 96th birthday last weekend. Hlaðgerður and Svanhildur Snæbjörnsdaughters are also near the record for Iceland's oldest twins ever, the record being 96 years and 292 days. 

Svanhildur Snæbjörnsdóttir says speaking to Morgunblaðið that the times of economic depression explains their longevity. "We grew up in the great depression and I think people who didn't get too much to eat during their childhood live the longest. We had plenty of milk and skyr and whey but we never had sweets or sugar, there was no money for that. We ate healthy food and not too much of it."

Both Svanhildur and her sister Hlaðgerður are in good health. "We are really healthy and we still live in our own homes although we don't live together. I take care of myself and she takes care of herself," 

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