During the last 20 years, Dan Buettner, a longevity researcher, has dedicated his efforts to studying the characteristics of those places in the world where people live the longest. These sites, known as “Zones Blues”, include areas such as Ikaria in Greece and Okinawa in Japan. The researcher has identified five of these zones and analyzed the factors that contribute to a long life, revealing key information about how healthy habits can positively impact longevity.
As Buettner detailed in an interview with CNBC, adopting a healthy lifestyle, even later in life, has important effects on life expectancy. “The average 20-year-old woman could live about 10 years longer if she followed a Blue Zone diet.“, mentions the researcher, referring to a diet based on whole foods and plants. Men are not left behind: they could live 13 more years following these habits, and “Even for a 60-year-old person, this is equivalent to six more years of life expectancy.””.
However, in addition to a diet rich in whole foods and plants, Buettner exposes the great change that young people should make To increase your life expectancy: give importance to social relationships as a crucial factor in longevity.
“Form a group of friends whose idea of recreation is something active”recommends. Surround yourself with people who share a healthy lifestyle can have a notable impact on long-term health behaviors.
That approach is also reflected in the lives of centenarians like Deborah Szekelywho at 102 years old, maintains the habit of going for a daily walk with a close friend and encourages everyone to “find friends who are active”.
Buettner highlights the influence of social circles on food decisions: “If all your friends are gathering around the barbecue or Pizza Hut or something, that’s what you’re going to eat.”. Conversely, having a friend who follows a healthy diet can inspire you to adopt better eating habits.
Buettner’s research also suggests that pursuing health through specific diets or exercise programs often backfires. Instead, recommends transforming the environment to adopt behaviors that, in blue zones, occur naturally. “In the blue zones, people is not proposed eat correctly or be active, they simply do it because their behaviors are integrated into their environment,” says Buettner.
Buettner has also observed that many of the characteristics of blue zones can be found in some areas of Spain. As he remembers from his time in Seville, Córdoba and Andújar: “Until recently people walked everywhere, socialized a lot and followed a Mediterranean diet.” However, he warns of the increase in obesity and overweight in Spain, attributing it to the adoption of a lifestyle closer to the American one.
Even small modifications to daily routines can result in considerable benefits. According to the researcher: “Acquiring healthy habits, even later in life, can positively affect a person’s longevity.””. This message is essential not only for young people, but also for older adults, which shows that it is never too late to change towards a healthier lifestyle.
Buettner’s research focuses on the foods people consume, but also how the social environment can influence these. life habits. An environment where whole, plant-based food consumption behaviors are modeled makes it more likely that a person will maintain those habits, which, according to the researcher, can significantly contribute to a longer, healthier life.
Buettner’s Blue Zone studies reveal that both diet and social relationships play a crucial role in longevity. Adopting healthy habits and surrounding yourself with people who share these values can be an effective strategy to live longer in good health.
