The Skepticism Behind Blue Zone Hotspots

When Karen McCann was in her late sixties, she was faced with an undeniable fact: She was no longer middle-aged. She and her husband Rich decided to set off on a five-month trip around the Mediterranean rim to learn how to age well. McCann, who is now 73, and Rich, now 80, wanted to see how people who routinely lived into their hundreds were not only surviving, but thriving.

The McCann’s, who split their time between the San Francisco Bay area and Seville, Spain, had been researching Blue Zones. National Geographic reporter Dan Buettner made the concept of Blue Zones popular in 2004 when he began studying why people in certain areas of the world lived longer. Buettner found super-agers in Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Icaria, Greece; Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica; and Loma Linda, California.

Buettner determined that people living in the Blue Zones shared many lifestyle traits. These included a strong social network, a healthy diet, a reason to get up in the morning, movement, and stress relief. Fast-forward 20 years and Buettner has now written multiple books, developed a Netflix series, and is involved with an initiative to create Blue Zone certified cities in the U.S., including Miami, Florida.

This all sounds great. So what could possibly be the problem? Recently, Saul Newman, a researcher at the Center for Longitudinal Studies at University College, London, accused Buettner of fraudulent findings. Newman’s 2019 study suggests that poor record keeping and misrepresentation of births and deaths have made the legitimacy of Buettner’s research questionable. Newman recently won the Ig Nobel Prize for his work; an award for achievements that “first make people laugh, and then make them think.”

Newman’s study didn’t focus solely on Blue Zones; instead, it focused on people over the age of 100 in other regions around the world, with some overlap. In a recent New York Times op-ed, he says that lacking paperwork such as birth certificates, which can be difficult to find for many supposed centenarians, makes it impossible to know the truth. Buettner has since posted a rebuttal on his website of the accusations, including detailed information about his age-verification process.

S. Jay Olshansky, Professor of Epidemiology at University of Illinois, Chicago, reviewed Newman’s study for a scientific journal and rejected it. “If you make a declarative statement in a scientific article, you actually have to prove it. And he didn’t prove it,” Olshansky says. The study still hasn’t been peer reviewed for a scientific journal.

So, this begs the question: Is the Blue Zone lifestyle legit? “The work of the Blue Zones is credible,” says Olshansky.

That doesn’t mean you have to move to a Blue Zone, or even buy products with the Blue Zone logo to benefit. You can incorporate these lifestyle changes without leaving your zip code or spending a lot of money.

Keep Moving

You don’t need a fancy gym membership to exercise. Instead, find a physical activity you enjoy and stick with it until it becomes a habit. McCann doesn’t spend time at the gym. Instead, she walks two hours every day and does standing Pilates and Qigong in her home. On rainy days, she uses a mini-Stairmaster while watching old movies.

“The whole idea is to maintain flexibility for as long as possible, whether it’s gardening or walking,” says Olshansky. Gardening is great because you’re often squatting, which means you’re using muscles you might not otherwise use and you’re building core strength.

Eat Like a Mediterranean, Ditch the Processed Food

One of McCann’s main goals while traveling was to return with a deeper understanding of how to incorporate the Mediterranean diet into her life. In Icaria, she noticed that the majority of people prepare their food with fresh ingredients, rather than buying pre-packaged food. “I would spend the day in someone’s kitchen helping them make an elaborate bread recipe that was stuffed with something, and at the end of the day, our meal would be a slice of bread,” she says.

The Mediterranean diet is linked to a lower risk of heart disease. The foods are fresher and much more nutritionally dense compared to the ultra-processed diet of many Americans. “Nutrient-dense food is much more flavorful, so it’s more satisfying. This means you eat less of it,” says Olshansky.

Shopping at local farmer’s markets, avoiding factory farmed meats and fish, and limiting food with unrecognizable ingredients on the label are ways to maintain a healthy diet.

Build a Strong Social Network That Keeps You Sharp

The super-agers in the Blue Zones are not only known for their longevity, but also for their cognitive functioning. Olshansky says that having a powerful network of friends keeps their minds operating at a higher level. Joining community centers, attending book clubs, or even scheduling regular coffee dates can create a sense of belonging. It also staves off loneliness, which, according to a 2023 study from the European Heart Journal, is a bigger risk factor for heart disease than diet and exercise.

“Everybody goes visiting at the end of the day in Icaria. When it’s time to relax, it’s better to do it in the company of friends,” says McCann. Now, back home, she makes it a priority to stay connected to friends.

Find Your Purpose

In the Blue Zones, super-agers play an important role in their community long after they’ve retired. In the Nicoya Peninsula, the term for this is “plan de vida,” and in Okinawa it’s called “ikigai,” or the reason you wake up each morning. In contrast, many US retirees don’t plan for what the rest of their life is going to look like. “If you park yourself in front of the TV after you achieve the equivalent of retirement, even if you have plenty of money in the bank, you’re probably going to run into some physical and cognitive issues,” says Olshansky.

Making sure you have a cause, family duty, or creative passion to get you out of bed every day is key. This can be as simple as helping neighbors, running errands for the family, or contributing to meals. For McCann, her travel writing blog gives her a sense of purpose because she knows that her readers depend on her for advice.

Reduce Your Stress

The Blue Zones are all about slowing down and limiting stress, which has a negative effect on cognitive functioning. Any activity that brings joy into your daily life can reduce stress, especially if it includes moving your body and being around other people. McCann spent a lot of time walking while touring the Mediterranean, and found it to be a great stress reliever. “You bump into people and chat with them. It’s life at that slower pace that feels more organically connected to the universe,” she says.

Despite Newman’s controversial study over whether the Blue Zone super-agers are really as old as they say they are, you can’t go wrong by incorporating these concepts into your daily routine. But Olshansky cautions that extending your lifespan shouldn’t be the ultimate goal—it should be about how healthy you are along the way, because that’s something we can control now.