SCIENTISTS SEEK ANSWERS TO LONGEVITY BY STUDYING LIFE IN WORLD’S BLUE ZONES
▶ Communities in Italy, Japan, Costa Rica, Greece and California offer insight into why some live longer than others
Blue zones around the world, where more people aged over 100 live than anywhere else, could hold the answers to living a long and healthy life.
Research across 20 years in five communities in Italy, Japan, Costa Rica, Greece and California unearthed insights into long life that could increase the number of people able to live into old age.
Blue zones are demographically confirmed, geographically defined areas with the highest percentage of centenarians.
Dan Buettner, an explorer and author, has studied five blue zones around the world to understand more about why some people live considerably longer than others.
“The key factor across all the blue zones is that the centenarians living there did not wake up one morning and decide they wanted to live to 100,” said Mr Buettner.
“They simply lived in environments that nudged them into daily movement, encouraged social connectedness and plant-based eating, making the healthy choice not only easy, but unavoidable.
“We found that all the blue zones shared nine common characteristics that we feel create this environment of health.”
The universal factors are natural movement, a sense of purpose, reduced stress, eating in moderation, plant-based diets, moderate but sociable alcohol intake, a sense of belonging or faith, strong family connections and social circles that encourage healthy behaviour.
Ikaria in Greece; Sardinia in Italy; Okinawa in Japan; Nicoya, in Costa Rica and Loma Linda in California were all found by demographers, anthropologists and epidemiologists to be blue zones.
“The world’s longest-lived people don’t pump iron or run
marathons,” said Mr Buettner. “Instead, their environments nudge them into moving without thinking about it.
“Knowing your sense of purpose is worth up to seven years of extra life expectancy and the world’s longest-lived people have routines to shed stress.
“In Okinawa, Japan, the people have a mantra ‘Hara hachi bu’, said before meals as a reminder to stop eating when their stomachs are 80 per cent full. While centenarians typically eat meat, it is only five times per month.
“Moderate drinkers outlive non-drinkers, especially if they share those drinks with friends. Attending faith-based services four times per month – no matter the denomination – adds up to 14 years of life expectancy. Centenarians put their families
first. They keep ageing parents and grandparents nearby, commit to a life partner and invest in their children.
“We know the world’s longest-lived people chose or were born into social circles that support healthy behaviour.”
Health-conscious friends can be a positive influence, Mr Buettner said, while those with three close friends who are obese are about 150 times more likely to be overweight.
The findings show our surroundings play a significant role in sustaining good health into old age.
Experts said 20 per cent of what determines how long we live is dictated by our genes, with the other 80 per cent driven by lifestyle and environmental factors.
“In these blue zones where
people actually age or live for longer, you can see they have a lot of things in common,” said Dr Zemer Wang, medical director at DP World’s Aviv Clinics in Dubai.
“The first one is that they’re all very physically active.
“So it can be in Sardinia, in a place where they herd their goats in the mountains, and people in their 60s and 70s are still walking up those mountains. It has to do with calorie-deficient diets, where people do not eat until they’re completely satiated on a regular basis.
“Another factor is low stress, good social connections and family values.”
A PwC report on longevity and ageing in the GCC found regional age distribution is relatively young compared to most developed nations.
Last year, the median age in Japan, Denmark, Switzerland, Britain and the US was 42, whereas that of GCC countries was only 30.
The oldest person in the world is Marla Branyas Morera, 116, from Spain.
Three of the top 10 oldest people are from Japan, three are from the US, with a Briton, Venezuelan and Brazilian rounding off the list. “A very important aspect of healthy ageing is having a sense of purpose and a reason to wake up in the morning,” said Dr Wang.
“Whenever people retire, some all of a sudden become sick and then they die.
“This is not a myth. When you have less sense of purpose, you start to deteriorate.”
The PwC report showed people in the Middle East are ageing at a faster rate than populations in developed nations.
The trend has been driven by changes in birth rates, and lifespan.
A positive for healthy ageing is a longer working life could invigorate economies with a later retirement age.
With more people working into later life, changes are being considered to increase the statutory retirement age.
Life expectancy has increased from about 45 years in 1850 to about 80 years today, and it is expected to rise further.
Between 1840 and 2002, life expectancy increased by 2.5 years every decade due to advances in health care, sanitation, nutrition and education.
However, the human lifespan has not been greatly extended.
“Being healthy involves more than merely consuming appropriate nutritious foods, exercising, and getting enough sleep,” said Dr Frank Lipman, a longevity researcher at the Wealth Clinic in Dubai.
“Longevity is the accomplishment of a long life.
“We may hope for a long life so that we can spend many years with our loved ones or travel the world.
“However, living to a ripe old age does not always imply healthy or joyful longevity, particularly if it is accompanied by weakness or disease.
“If we are not thinking about how to live as long as possible in good health, we are missing the bigger picture.”
Research found the areas with the highest number of people living to over the age of 100 shared nine characteristics