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Review
. 2016 Jul 7;10(5):318-321.
doi: 10.1177/1559827616637066. eCollection 2016 Sep-Oct.

Blue Zones: Lessons From the World's Longest Lived

Dan Buettner  1 , Sam Skemp  1
Affiliations
Review

Blue Zones: Lessons From the World's Longest Lived

Dan Buettner et al. Am J Lifestyle Med. .

Abstract

What began as a National Geographic expedition, lead by Dan Buettner, to uncover the secrets of longevity, evolved into the discovery of the 5 places around the world where people consistently live over 100 years old, dubbed the Blue Zones. Dan and his team of demographers, scientist and anthropologists were able to distill the evidence-based common denominators of these Blue Zones into 9 commonalities that they call the Power 9. They have since taken these principles into communities across the United States working with policy makers, local businesses, schools and individuals to shape the environments of the Blue Zones Project Communities. What has been found is that putting the responsibility of curating a healthy environment on an individual does not work, but through policy and environmental changes the Blue Zones Project Communities have been able to increase life expectancy, reduce obesity and make the healthy choice the easy choice for millions of Americans.

Keywords: Blue Zones; Dan Buettner; Health; Life Radius; Longevity; Power 9; Vitality Compass.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Blue Zones (reprinted with permission from Dan Buettner).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Life radius (reprinted with permission from Dan Buettner).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. Christakis NA, Fowler JH. The spread of obesity in a large social network over 32 years. N Engl J Med. 2007;357:370-379. - PubMed
    1. Buettner D. The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived the Longest. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society; 2008.
    1. Buettner D. The Blue Zones Solution: Eating and Living Like the World’s Healthiest People. Washington, DC: National Geographic Society; 2015.

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