Adam’s Journal
For years, I’ve read that people in “blue zones” live longer because of their diets and lifestyles. But I just heard about a study that’s called this into question. What’s the story? Are blue zones for real – or just more wellness hype?
Dr. Scofield Prescribes
The term “blue zone” first appeared in a research study two decades ago in Experimental Gerontology, a scientific journal. The study examined centenarians, people who live 100 years or more, on the Italian island of Sardinia.
In the paper, the researchers showed the regions of the island where people lived the longest by shading them – you guessed it – blue. The authors speculated these areas of exceptional longevity might be caused by nutrition and lifestyle, although the scientists also surmised that genetics could play a role.
As a concept and term, blue zones gained traction soon after, and it did so largely due to a piece in National Geographic. In it, the reporter highlighted three regions where research had found people lived longer and healthier lives: Sardinia; Okinawa, Japan; and Loma Linda, California.
The reporter pegged the regions’ longer and healthier lifespans to their residents’ diets, general levels of physical activity, prioritization of family and community, and not smoking cigarettes. He also mentioned other factors, like moderate drinking, stress management and genetics.
Still, in an interview, he emphasized that “[t]hey’re not on diets or CrossFit or getting on Instagram and getting supplements or running down to Tulum for stem cells. You know, none of these longevity hacks. But somehow, they’re living about 10 years longer.”
In 2019, a British researcher wrote a paper arguing that areas that seemed to have a high population of very old people shared another important trait: faulty record keeping.
In the study, which was recently updated but has never been published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, the author contended that many of these ostensible 100-year-olds are alive only on paper. Low literacy rates and inadequate documentation of births and deaths, he said, have in many instances created the illusion of centenarians and blue zones.
So, where does the truth lie? Probably somewhere in between: While researchers acknowledge that poor government records can undermine the data in demographic studies, blue-zone proponents say the data that identified the longevity zones remains valid.
This idea of poor record-keeping confounding longevity studies is not a new one. A New York Times article from 1971 detailed the supposed concentration of centenarians in certain villages in the Russian-occupied Republic of Abkhazia. However, after deeper analysis, a research note a few years later in the journal Gerontology reported that accounts of extreme longevity of Abkhazians were exaggerated – and that the villagers lived no longer than Americans.
Regardless, there’s one point that’s beyond contention. Wherever you are, a nutritious diet, physical activity, and social connections are an excellent recipe for a longer, healthier life.
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Adam Cohen is senior vice president and general counsel at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. Dr. Hal Scofield is a physician-scientist at OMRF, and he also serves as Associate Chief of Staff for Research at the Oklahoma City VA Medical Center. Send your health questions to contact@omrf.org.
