Big Family and Friends Celebrating Outside at Home. Diverse Group of Children, Adults and Old People Gathered at a Table, Having Fun Conversations. Preparing Barbecue and Eating Vegetables.
Blue Zones are areas around the globe where individuals live notably longer and healthier lives spanning beyond the age of 80. These include Okinawa in Japan, Sardinia in Italy, Nicoya in Costa Rica, Ikaria in Greece, and Loma Linda in California. The residents of these zones tend to enjoy low stress, regular physical activity, rich social lives, wholesome local foods, and a low incidence of disease.
In Ikaria, Greece, citizens partake in the Mediterranean diet filled with olive oil, homegrown vegetables, and red wine. Similarly, in Sardinia, Italy, older men residing in mountainous terrains lead active lives farming and consuming plentiful red wine. In Okinawa, Japan, the world’s oldest women thrive on soy-based foods and practice Tai Chi, a type of meditative exercise. The Nicoyan people in Costa Rica eat corn tortillas and beans and frequently engage in manual labor into old age. Living with purpose, known as ‘plan de vida’ in Spanish, is highly valued in their society. In Loma Linda, California, a closely-knit vegetarian community thrives.
However, Saul Newman from University College London questions these claims. Newman attributes the elevated longevity in these regions to clerical errors, pension fraud, and unreliable birth and death records rather than lifestyle habits.
In response to Newman’s skepticism, it’s worth noting that ‘Blue Zone’ projects are ongoing. Founded by Dan Buettner in 2005, they aim to help communities adopt similar lifestyles to those found in the original Blue Zones. As a result, participating communities have observed substantial declines in obesity and smoking rates, along with significant healthcare savings.
