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Can you build a blue zone?
Can you build a blue zone?
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Subtitles (278)
0:00
Wellness is everywhere right now. It's
0:01
on your social feeds, your television.
0:04
Everyone seems to have the secret to
0:05
longevity.
0:06
>> Let me tell y'all five simple things
0:09
that you can do to prolong your life.
0:12
>> But what if the secret to living longer
0:13
wasn't a supplement or a biohack or a
0:15
cold plunge? What if it were a place?
0:18
You've probably heard of blue zones.
0:19
They've been featured on morning
0:21
television and even had a series on
0:23
Netflix. The idea is there are places on
0:25
this earth where people routinely live
0:27
past 100, healthier, longer, better than
0:31
almost anywhere else on earth.
0:32
>> Blue zones are these really unique
0:35
geographical areas around the world
0:37
where people have been shown to have
0:39
exceptional longevity.
0:40
>> Okinawa, Japan, Italy, Costa Rica, Loma
0:44
Linda, California.
0:46
>> And now that idea has been packaged,
0:48
certified, [music] and exported to
0:49
communities across the United States.
0:51
>> This is my family here. This it's like a
0:54
real friendship that goes on, as well
0:56
[music] as
0:58
the wonderful exercise of walking.
1:00
>> So can something really be learned from
1:01
these [music] blue zones or are the
1:02
fundamentals of healthy living simply
1:04
being packaged and sold as the next
1:06
fountain of youth?
1:09
>> This walking group actually started
1:11
before I joined. Kathy was a original
1:14
member and it came out of our book club.
1:15
[music]
1:16
Kathy and I are here for the long haul.
1:19
>> Yes.
1:19
>> Well, and both of you have been with the
1:21
group for a long time, too.
1:22
>> For me it was more about meeting and
1:24
people and and socializing and I think
1:27
I've built a little bit of a connection.
1:29
>> Redondo Beach, California. Average life
1:31
expectancy, 83.2 years. And since 2010,
1:35
a certified blue zone.
1:36
>> I found out there was a section near me,
1:39
something near me and I said, "Oh my
1:40
gosh, I should check into it."
1:42
>> All of the people are really nice. We
1:44
have coffee after sometimes and you
1:47
know, and we sit and chat. So this it's
1:49
like a real friendship that goes on.
1:51
>> The beach cities, which includes this
1:53
spot, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach,
1:55
and Hermosa Beach, are part of a
1:57
nationwide certification program. Cities
1:59
and communities that apply to be Blue
2:01
Zones certified, adopting a set of
2:03
health and wellness initiatives in
2:05
exchange for the brand, the consulting,
2:07
and the claim. But, where did that idea
2:09
come from? And what exactly is a Blue
2:12
Zone? The idea began with researchers
2:14
studying longevity in Sardinia, Italy,
2:16
where they found an unusually high
2:18
concentration of people living past
2:20
[music] 100. In a 2004 paper,
2:22
demographer Michel Poulain and his
2:24
colleagues referred to the area as a
2:26
Blue Zone. Dan Buettner later built on
2:28
that research in an article for National
2:30
Geographic, helping identify other
2:33
long-lived communities around the world
2:35
and bringing the concept to a global
2:36
audience.
2:37
>> And they observed [music]
2:38
kind of what was happening there and and
2:40
he had he saw some common themes.
2:42
>> Those findings were distilled into what
2:44
is called the Power 9. [music]
2:46
>> The nine principles of the Blue Zones
2:47
are basically organized into four
2:50
categories, which is [music] activity,
2:53
eating well,
2:54
your personal outlook, and then
2:56
connection.
2:57
>> Finding time to reduce stress, stopping
3:00
eating when you feel 80% full, using a
3:02
plant-based diet, a wine at five, where
3:05
you drink alcohol moderately, one to two
3:08
glasses a day.
3:09
>> But, then Buettner asked the question if
3:10
Blue Zones could be created, not just
3:12
discovered.
3:13
>> So, he brought that [music] back and
3:15
wanted to see if there was a way to
3:18
engineer this in in communities. [music]
3:20
>> In 2009, in partnership with the AARP
3:23
and the United Health Foundation, the
3:25
first Blue Zones project was launched in
3:27
Albert Lea, Minnesota. Since then, more
3:29
than 70 Blue Zones projects have popped
3:31
up across the United States, like here
3:34
in California.
3:35
>> We applied [music]
3:36
and we were selected to begin the
3:38
process of becoming a Blue Zones
3:41
community. We had 20-some-odd [music]
3:43
thousand people sign a pledge to live a
3:46
healthier life. And so, that's how you
3:49
>> [music]
3:49
>> begin to
3:51
create this
3:52
community buy-in and and sort of
3:54
community groundswell.
3:55
>> Smoking was banned outright [music] in
3:57
Manhattan Beach.
3:58
>> The single most healthy thing anybody
4:00
can do is stop smoking.
4:01
>> Bike lanes were added, walking paths
4:03
expanded, and local schools healthy
4:06
lunches replaced what was there before,
4:08
and restaurants changed their menus,
4:09
too.
4:10
>> We have [music] over 96 Blue Zones
4:12
certified restaurants. You don't have
4:14
salt on the table. [music] Instead of
4:16
putting fries with the meal, you do
4:18
fruit.
4:19
>> And the results on paper look
4:20
impressive. According to Blue Zones,
4:22
childhood obesity dropped by 68% between
4:25
[music] 2007 and 2019, and smoking
4:28
dropped by 36% between 2010 and 2017.
4:31
So, what does it take to become a
4:33
certified Blue Zone? First, you need
4:35
buy-in from a community, and you need
4:37
money.
4:37
>> Total [music] commitment uh
4:39
in the early days was around $2 million.
4:42
Uh so, it was a lot of money and [music]
4:43
sort of a big bet, if you will, on,
4:45
"Hey, is this really going to work, and
4:47
are we going to be able to see
4:48
improvement?" [music]
4:49
>> Since then, Beach Cities has shifted to
4:51
a licensing agreement, paying roughly
4:53
$110,000 [music]
4:55
a year to keep the Blue Zones name. And
4:56
Beach Cities isn't alone. Across the
4:58
country, medical centers and health
5:00
systems have [music] invested hundreds
5:01
of thousands and sometimes millions of
5:03
dollars to bring Blue Zones projects to
5:05
their communities. In Iowa, one issuer
5:07
put up $25 million,
5:09
but when that funding ran out, most of
5:11
those cities lost their certifications.
5:13
>> Millions of bacteria live in a person's
5:15
mouth, maybe more than there are birds
5:17
on Earth. Some are helpful, others Many
5:20
are behind oral health problems like
5:22
cavities and gingivitis. So, how do you
5:23
manage something you can't actually see?
5:26
It [music] starts with a solid routine
5:27
and the right ingredients for the job.
5:29
Take stannous fluoride, for example. It
5:31
helps target and kill plaque bacteria.
5:34
Plaque can harden into tartar, and
5:36
plaque bacteria can cause cavities and
5:38
gingivitis. That's why Colgate Total
5:40
developed a unique stabilization [music]
5:42
technology to keep the bacteria-fighting
5:44
stannous fluoride stable in your
5:45
toothpaste for longer. The benefits go
5:48
even further when you pair it with the
5:50
Colgate Total toothbrush [music] and
5:51
mouthwash. The toothbrush is designed
5:53
with ultra-fine bristles to reach deep
5:55
along the gum line and between [music]
5:57
teeth where plaque likes to hide. And
5:59
when you're not brushing, the
6:00
antibacterial mouthwash extends
6:02
protection. Together, they form the
6:04
Colgate Total Active Prevention System
6:06
designed to [music] prevent oral health
6:07
problems
6:09
before they start.
6:13
>> I think the concept of Blue Zones can
6:15
definitely be exported to other
6:16
communities because most of it is health
6:19
promotion 101. For me at least, the
6:21
jury's still out about whether Blue Zone
6:23
is going to
6:25
decrease risk of chronic disease, lower
6:28
rates of obesity, raise the life
6:30
expectancy. The reports I've seen
6:33
>> [music]
6:33
>> are mostly based on self-reported
6:35
surveys.
6:36
>> Most people already know what they need
6:38
to do [music]
6:39
to live longer and live healthier. Eat
6:42
right, exercise, manage stress, have
6:44
meaningful connections. [music]
6:46
>> And while Blue Zones focuses on habits
6:48
that may help people live longer,
6:50
researchers have found that wealth can
6:51
matter just as much. America's richest
6:54
people often live 10 to 15 years longer
6:56
than its poorest. And people in
6:58
countries with universal health care
7:00
live about 4 years longer on average,
7:02
according [music] to a 2022 Yale School
7:04
of Public Health study.
7:05
>> It's really hard to say there's one
7:08
single thing that makes someone live a
7:11
long healthy [music] life. How we eat,
7:13
how we work, how we spend our leisure
7:15
time, all of those things are really
7:18
complex. [music] I mean, then there's
7:19
also our genetics, right? So, if you're
7:22
a lucky person that is born with good
7:25
genetics, then these things can only
7:27
help you. And if you're someone who's
7:29
born with
7:31
not so great genetics, there are things
7:32
you can do to improve your longevity,
7:34
but you're never going to get rid of
7:35
that.
7:35
>> And maybe part of the reason Blue Zones
7:37
resonate so deeply in America is because
7:39
so so of modern American life is
7:41
designed against longevity. Most
7:43
Americans don't live in walkable
7:45
communities. Ultra-processed food makes
7:47
up a massive portion of the American
7:49
diet, and loneliness [music] and
7:50
isolation became so widespread that the
7:53
surgeon general considered it a public
7:55
health epidemic [music] in 2023.
7:57
>> People will debate whether you can
7:58
measure it and can you show a
8:00
correlation. And this is a group of
8:02
people [music] that get together
8:04
for a healthy purpose. Uh these are
8:06
people that didn't really know each
8:07
other before this started. And
8:10
because of the Blue Zones program
8:11
started walking together and now they're
8:15
they're best of friends.
8:16
>> It's really important
8:18
to have a group like this.
8:20
>> Having good friends that I can
8:23
depend on and and
8:26
to have a good time and
8:28
talk and
8:29
get me out of the house. It's important.
8:41
>> Thanks so much for watching. If you're
8:42
not already a member, head over to
8:43
patreon.com/vox
8:45
to get [music] access to more stories,
8:47
stay updated on our work, and help
8:49
support ambitious reporting. It's so
8:51
important to support independent
8:53
journalism. Your membership allows us to
8:55
make really cool videos, research
8:57
[music] interesting stories, and also
8:58
dig into the investigative reporting.
9:00
And if it doesn't make financial sense
9:01
[music] for you to support us today, you
9:03
can still follow us on Patreon for free
9:05
and stay up-to-date on all of the great
9:07
reporting [music] going on at Vox.
9:09
Thanks.
