Over twenty years ago, National Geographic, with a grant from the National Institute on Aging, sponsored Dan Buettner to study cultures who had exceptionally long-lived people. Many in these areas lived to be 100 years of age, far beyond the proportions of 100-year-olds in the general population. Five areas from around the world were chosen for study. They were Sardinia, Italy; the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica; Okinawa, Japan; Loma Linda, California; and Ikaria, Greece. These each fit the category of exceptionally long-lived people.
The goal of the study was to see if there were common elements in these areas that might explain the phenomenon. Early studies had concluded that only a small part of aging was genetic in origin. The fact that these regions were found in various parts of the world and in different cultures made the study broad-based and less culturally fixed in one part of the world.
The five areas were designated Blue Zones as a way of identifying the areas included in the study. In spite of many differences, nine common characteristics emerged in the zones. Next week, I will outline those nine characteristics for you all.
You might be interested in one characteristic that they all shared. The majority, by a huge percentage, belonged to some faith-based community. Denomination didn’t seem to matter, but faith-based services four times per month were projected to add four to fourteen years to life expectancy! The many long-lived people in our congregation may have encouraged us to believe the projection. We have many who have exceeded “three score and ten and by reason of strength, four score.” While longer life is not the only measure, it is usually a blessing from God in which we can rejoice.