It’s been 21 years since Dan Buettner wrote a cover story for National Geographic magazine, “The Secrets of Long Life,” seeking to identify common lifestyle habits among the world’s healthiest 100-year-olds. An earlier study in Sardinia, Italy, had circled villages full of long-lived residents in blue ink on a paper map, and similar communities were dubbed Blue Zones. Along with scientists and a photographer, Buettner visited these areas to do more than 400 interviews and found they all featured healthy eating, low levels of chronic disease, and a zest for life.
He went on to write six best-selling books on the topic, eventually distilling his research into nine principles for living a longer, healthier life—from making wise food, drink, and portion choices and moving naturally to having a purpose in later life and enjoying a caring community of friends and family. Because the five original Blue Zones (Okinawa, Japan; Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece; Loma Linda, California; and Sardinia) are located in a narrow band across the Northern Hemisphere and four of the five are on the ocean, it was also thought that perhaps geography and climate contributed to longer, healthier lives.
In 2009 Buettner, in partnership with AARP and the United Health Foundation, set out to prove that Blue Zone principles could be applied anywhere to improve people’s health and longevity, and they launched a community-wide initiative in Albert Lea, Minnesota, a small town south of Minneapolis/St. Paul. Now under the Blue Zones Project umbrella, 75 U.S. cities currently are working on group diet and exercise programs while also changing the community’s culture so that residents are encouraged to make healthy choices…