I feel bad about sharing this. Maybe this guy is wrong: The secret of ‘Blue Zones’ where people reach 100? Fake data, says academic

[Bolt_Upright]

I feel bad about sharing this. Maybe this guy is wrong: The secret of ‘Blue Zones’ where people reach 100? Fake data, says academic. University College London researcher is on a mission to debunk shoddy research into the world’s oldest people aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/2...

For a quarter-century, researchers and the general public have sought to understand why people in so-called “Blue Zones” live to 100 at far greater rates than anywhere else.

Saul Newman, a researcher at the University College London (UCL), believes he has the answer: actually, they don’t.

[Boscoejean]

most unfortunate

[Stillstandingstill]

I would need more information before discounting blue zones. There are always conflicting theories.

[SilentEchoes]

Do you suppose that our current political environment is liberating researchers to speak truth to power?When will they tell the truth about Roundup?

🤔

[Bolt_Upright in reply to SilentEchoes]

I do believe that governments have used grants to lead the research and control the narrative. I am not sure how taking an axe to govt funding of research will affect the narrative, but it should be interesting.

If Bobby bans pharma ads that fund all of the news in America, the narrative there will change also. Interesting times.

[SilentEchoes in reply to Bolt_Upright]

Change is good.

[Gioc]

Hi      Bolt_Upright ,

I would like to live there in Sardinia (Italy blue zone ), clean air, mild winter, good people, good food, lots of sun and sea, no one would want to die anymore. It's like that! 😊

Alghero , Sardegna Italy 🇮🇹 I ❤️ Sardinia.

[SilentEchoes in reply to Gioc]

I'd like to live there too 🙂

[Esperanto in reply to Gioc]

To determine the current status of blue zones, we must await the results of Poulain's new research. However, he has shared some insights: the trend continues in Sardinia, while this may not be the case for Costa Rica and Ikaria. In Okinawa, there appears to be a plateau. Sardinia remains the strongest blue zone, with an increasing number of centenarians. For instance, Villagrande, a village in Sardinia with a population of 3,000, has 55 residents who are 100 years old, with a nearly equal number of centenarian men and women, which is quite exceptional.

[LindaP50 in reply to Gioc]

Lovely, a nice Zen moment looking at these pictures.

[Grammy80]

We try so many things—eat Mediterranean, read this, do that, then step off a curb and get hit by a bus. My everyday stuff keeps me busy, and I know yours does, too, Bolt_Upright ~!😉💞

I'm packed with conflicting info~~

[quantumpark]

Hi Bolt. I am excited over this message! I like to go.

[MarkPrana]

It doesn't change the fact that data shows PwP eating a Mediterranean or MIND diet are seeing better outcomes and slower progression.

That's the data we need to focus on. 👍

[Sapporo]

part is your own constitution- part is mental- everyone knows the dance- sleep, eat right, stress, exercise- I think it comes down to mental desire to live a clean life- I am inspired- I will now walk 10 miles- will be 81 in May- blue zone or not- thanks for getting me up and running

[Sapporo in reply to Sapporo]

Did 10 miles- next up- 12 miles

[Steegen]

I think one needs to not throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Is there an issue of record keeping which has historically skewed some of the data? Sure, quite possible.

Does that mean that a Mediterranean or Okinawan diet based mostly on fresh seasonal vegetables suddenly isn't healthy? That would be a rather absurd conclusion, in my opinion.

Way more data on these diets than just the one particular niche concept of "Blue Zones."

[Flipper_B]

Are data from ”blue zones” of any use if we don’t track people and have health data on them moving in and out of the zones? If there would be a lot of people hearing about it and moving to Sardinia, how will that affect the life span? 50 years ago it all might have made sense but nowadays people move around much more. I can see it here on Tenerife as well where we live during the winters.

[Esperanto in reply to Flipper_B]

In essence, while the movement of people can introduce variability, thorough demographic research methodologies are designed to account for these changes and focus on the populations that have historically inhabited these regions.

[Flipper_B]

Also-Tenerife used to be a place where people from Europe went to cure TBC because of the fresh air. Nowadays, the climate change made sand storms from Sahara much more frequent, which in turn made the air much worse. Those facts need to be taken into consideration and I think a scientist will end up with too many variables, known and unknown.

[Bolt_Upright]

Is there some kind of business motive behind the blue zone movement?

Eight Florida Communities First to Achieve Blue Zones Community Certification in Southeast US westorlandonews.com/eight-f...

[Esperanto in reply to Bolt_Upright]

The original concept of blue zones by Gianni Pes (Italy) and Michel Poulain (Belgium) is undoubtedly fascinating, but Dan Buettner from the U.S. has heavily marketed the idea, leveraging connections with National Geographic, the food industry, and even mentioned construction projects that benefited from its popularity. This commercial approach has undermined the integrity of the research and highlights a concerning trend in how science and commerce become intertwined.

The fifth Blue Zone put forward by Buettner, Loma Linda (U.S.), is not recognized by Poulain and Pes because it does not meet the criteria for Blue Zones. Nonetheless, Poulain's research continues to be advanced by this passionate researcher and others, albeit now without Buettner, who is pursuing his own commercial path.

For those interested in learning more about the “SHADES OF BLUE,” I recommend reading the article of the same name by Ignacio Amigo:

science.org/content/article...

Most striking was the response from a centenarian to the inevitable final question posed to the hundred-year-old Herminia: What’s the secret of living a long life? She doesn’t think twice before answering: “Common sense.”

[Flipper_B]

That would explain a lot of it