Regarding those blue areas──Watt?

Kip Hansen's News Brief – January 22, 2025 – 750 words/3 minutes

This is a popular science guide: “Imagine living to be over 100 years old with virtually no health problems. You can still walk around your neighborhood or work in your garden, and your memory is intact enough to recall your favorite childhood memories, And you don't need to take any medications.

what's new?

Saul Justin Newman, a senior researcher at the university, first published a new study on the concept of “blue zones” in a preprint archive in March 2024, where the proportion of older people appears to be higher. Center for Longitudinal Research, High London College. A copy of the full text is available at bioRxiv, a biology preprint server. The title of the new paper gives away its contents: Supercentenarians and extraordinary age records show pattern of clerical errors and pension fraud.

Dr. Newman was awarded the 2024 Ig Nobel Prize in Demography for his work.

In 2012, Dan Buettner published a book titled “The Blue Zones: 9 Longevity Lessons from People Who Live Longer,” and the topic of the Blue Zones became a popular science “field.” As of 2023, Buettner was still working on the idea and co-produced a TV mini-series: “Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones.” Of course, Buettner has turned the idea into a business.

What are those lessons about longevity?

According to our friend Perplexity (pretty useful when she's sane):

“People in the Blue Zones live longer by following habits that promote physical health, mental health, and social connection. These habits include:

Plant-based diet: A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes provides essential nutrients and fiber.

Physical activity: People in blue zones incorporate physical activity into their daily lives through walking, gardening and other household chores. They also try to stand more and limit the time they spend in front of a screen.

Stress Management: People in blue zones have developed practices and rituals that reduce the effects of stress.

Drink alcohol in moderation: Drinking alcohol in moderation, especially red wine, is good for your health.

Sense of Purpose: Having a strong sense of purpose can improve quality of life and inspire healthy behaviors.

The 80% Rule: Eating fewer calories may help you live longer.

Get enough sleep: Good sleep can prevent various health problems.

Build Strong Connections: People in Blue Zones value building strong connections with others.

all these characteristics [except “plant based diets” if it is taken to mean eating no meat] These are all great ideas, and perhaps many of us would benefit from incorporating them into our lives more often.

But do people living in so-called blue zone areas really live exceptionally long lives by maintaining these habits?

According to Newman, this is not the case:

The following quote is taken from Newman's preprint paper. This is a very thorough in-depth study of the demographics and longevity claims of the “Blue Zones.”

“The observation of individuals reaching significant ages and their concentration in geographical subdivisions or 'blue zones' has generated considerable scientific interest. Suggested drivers of longevity include high vegetable intake, strong social ties and genetic markers.

“Here, we reveal new predictors of extraordinary longevity and 'supercentenarian' status. In the United States, supercentenarian status is predicted by a lack of vital registration. In the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, and France , significant longevity is predicted by regional poverty, old-age poverty, material deprivation, low income, high crime rates, remote birth areas, deteriorating health, and a decline in the number of people over 90 years of age.

But, but, but…?

Saul Newman reveals all in column January 20, 2025 new york times Titled “Sorry, there are no life secrets that will help you live to be 110”.

If you're interested in how decades of seemingly careful blue zone science have led to imaginary or just “hopefully real” results, this column is well worth your time. This book has a total of 1,600 words and takes 7 minutes to read.

However, Newman sums it up for us easily:

“After years of public criticism, the basic question [of longevity research] Still can't explain it. instead, The Science of Extreme Longevity Is Still a Big Joke”.

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Author comments:

While most people seem to want to live to a ripe old age, there is one person in the news who wants to live forever (or at least “not die”).

I've been writing about nutritional epidemiology and its efforts to find diets that make people live longer (or whatever…).

The same erroneous approach has been taken by the mini-science fields of extreme longevity and blue zones in trying to find the “secret to longevity.”

I'm with Newman as scienceThis is”What a big joke”.

You may know that popular science performance in other fields is also a huge joke.

Thank you for reading.

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