Glancing Askance: Are you blue?

By MARC WOLLIN

The color of love? Red. The color of caution? Yellow. Purple connotes royalty, orange conveys vitality, while white is virginal and pure. And green is either the color of renewal and wealth, growth and the environment or, if you are of certain political persuasion, a political scam that will destroy the world.

As to blue, it’s cool in attitude and temperature, as well as indicating reliability, stability and intelligence. Somewhat paradoxically it can also indicate sadness or depression, and even has a whole genre of music named after it. And because that was the color of the highlighters that a bunch of researchers had 20 years ago, it’s now also associated with longevity.

It started with demographic work begun in 1999 and refined in 2004 by Dr. Gianni Pes and demographer Michel Poulain. They noted that one particular area of Sardinia had a higher incidence than surrounding regions of centenarians, or people living to more than 100, and circled it in blue ink.  Working with author Dan Buettner, they published their findings in a 2005 National Geographic article titled “The Secrets of a Long Life.” In it, they identified Okinawa and Loma Linda, Calif., as two other areas that shared this trait. Since then they’ve added Nicoya, Costa Rica and Ikaria, Greece, as places with significantly higher concentrations of very oldsters. Circle each, and you get the Blue Zones.

The obvious question: What do the people within these regions have in common? To be sure, the researchers note that you have to start by winning the “genetic lottery” and be lucky to not get some major disease. But they also note that, per the Danish twin study, the world’s largest twin registry and research project of its kind, only about 20% of how long the average person lives is determined by genes. The rest is more about lifestyle and environment than who your parents were. According to Buettner, by “reverse engineering longevity” they boiled it down to nine items that seem to make a difference. 

It started with movement. The people in these localities had routines in which their day-to-day lives embraced physical activity. They also had purpose. The researchers said that “knowing your sense of purpose is worth up to seven years of extra life expectancy.” In each place there was also some custom to help people shed stress. In Greece they took naps, while in Sardinia they had happy hours. 

Unsurprisingly, what and how they ate played a part as well. All had diets skewed towards plants, especially those with lots of nutrients. People ate to not feel hungry, as opposed to feeling full. And residents of all but one zone (a religious community) drank alcohol moderately and regularly. The takeaway on that? One to two glasses per day is fine; 14 drinks on Saturday night is not.

The last three characteristics were about the social arrangements beyond the individual. All but five of the 263 centenarians were part of some kind of faith-based community. They were also very focused on their families, from keeping aging parents nearby, to taking a life partner, to investing time in their children. And finally they lived in groups and social circles that shared their values and supported healthy living habits. 

Various municipalities are jumping on the bandwagon, trying to see if they can replicate these results by encouraging their residents to adopt blue zone habits. That means redesigning their environment to promote walking as well as encourage other physical activities. In Albert Lea, Minn., after just one year of healthy living initiatives, participants added an estimated 2.9 years to their average lifespan, while health care costs dropped by 49%. Other communities that have embraced some aspects of the nine include Forth Worth, Texas, the “beach cities” of Hermosa, Manhattan and Redondo in California, and Naples and Marco Island in Florida.

Neither Sardinia nor Forth Worth nor the people in them have a patent on any of these aspects of life. Indeed, they don’t have to be done as a set. You can take a nap when you feel stressed out, or join a church or synagogue or mosque. You can walk up the stairs at the airport versus taking the escalator. Have that glass of wine (just one), and call your parents or kids. And don’t ask for another helping of mashed potatoes; good on the potato though, and even better if it’s a sweet one.

Marc Wollin of Bedford walks, tries to eat well, takes naps, and is working on the other stuff. His column appears weekly via email and online on Substack and Blogspot as well as Facebook, LinkedIn and X.