Ten years ago, I already had the idea of creating a virtual Blue Zone.
Nobody wants to be sick. By adopting new lifestyle factors, we could increase our lifespan by a few years. This is why, through our publications, recipes, and live broadcasts, we offer an anti-aging approach like "ultimate prevention" to help you age well, healthily, and beautifully.
Small steps can lead to big changes.
In this sense, read here how a city successfully achieved a whole change in its community.
An article, published in early January 2024, titled: We Know How to Create Blue Zones in the United States. But Will We? tells us how a former mayor, Mrs. Betsy Price, of the city of Fort Worth, Texas (2011-2021) wanted to combat childhood obesity as well as the health problems of its 900,000 residents ; she sought information about “Blue Zones” from its founder Dan Buettner and his team to develop her plan, namely, how she could integrate more plant-based diets, more exercise, and more healthy practices everywhere, from schools to businesses.
Drawing inspiration from the original five Blue Zones, she understood the importance of healthy dietary changes, increased physical activity, and creating spaces for people to walk, run, and play. And it's yielded positive results.
With the help of the Blue Zones project, in five to seven years, it's incredible to see the magnitude of the changes the city of Fort Worth has made: a 31% decrease in smoking, reducing the smoking rate to 13.5%, as well as a nine-point increase in the number of residents exercising at least 30 minutes three or more days a week. According to the mayor, individuals were convinced they had to exclude beef from their diets, she mentions: "We told them not to completely eliminate it, but to reduce it. The goal was to help the city make good choices, not to force people. Take the kids to the park. Go outside. " If you can change one neighborhood, you've made a big change ," Ms. Price said.
The question was raised: "Is it possible to create America's next Blue Zone at a time of stagnant life expectancy in the United States?"
Of the five existing Blue Zones, only one is in the United States: Loma Linda, California. In recent years, Buettner and his team have worked with more than 70 cities to help them adopt a healthier lifestyle, thus becoming Blue Zones 2.0.
This effort comes as life expectancy in the United States is currently stagnating. The United States ranked 46th in the world in terms of life expectancy in 2020, according to the American Journal of Public Health.
Mr. Buettner highlighted Fort Worth's success, saying, "It was one of the most unhealthy cities in America. Now it's in the middle of the pack. They made the downtown more walkable, 300 restaurants made healthier choices, and they reduced residents' BMIs by 3 percent, saving health care costs and improving quality of life. "
He cited examples of cities such as San Luis Obispo and Pasadena, California; Minneapolis; Jacksonville and Naples, Florida; and Scottsdale, Arizona, as places where efforts have been successful in encouraging more walkable cities, parks and healthier diets.
“We never succeed in making a city healthier,” Buettner said. “ We don’t force people to do better. We create a living environment that allows people to thrive. We subconsciously encourage people to eat less and move more … Some mayors see their job as making people healthier. You have to look at a problem and see the big picture.”
The Stanford University Center on Longevity estimates that a life expectancy of 100 years will become the norm for all American newborns by 2050. For future generations, living to 100 could become commonplace. But long years don't always mean healthy years.
Buettner says, "The $150 billion anti-aging and diet industry offers quick fixes. None of it will work in the long run. True longevity is small changes over the long term. Until we start, America will continue to spiral downward. We know how to reverse the spiral. We have a treatable cancer. It just takes the will to do it."
“Blue zones are fragile, and moving towards the Blue Zone is more of a local effort, because changing a nation as a whole would be a big step forward.”
Learn more about: Why do Blue Zone residents have a longer life expectancy? Supporting studies are here!
Inspiration: We know how to create blue zones in the USA https://www.marketwatch.com/amp/story/we-know-how-to-create-blue-zones-in-the-us-but-will-we-do-it-93e9f251
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