Lessons that the Aging, 65-70yrs populations, can learn from the Blue Zones’ on Longevity
Introduction
Blue Zones are the regions around the world where the majority of people age to 100 years and above (centenarians) without experiencing age-related health conditions, such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and other noncommunicable diseases live (Riddell, 2016). People in the Blue Zones live longer and better lives that are associated with good health, purpose, and love, compared to other populations around the world. Individuals from the Blue Zones experience optimal healthy aging without significant health complications, despite the occurrence of age-related changes in the aging process. In research that focused on the reasons for the concentration of centenarians in some regions around the world, Buettner & Skemp (2016) coined the term Blue Zones the consisted of five areas across the globe. The parts include Okinawa in Japan, Ikaria in Greece, Loma Linda in California, Sardinia in Italy, and Nicoya in Costa Rica.
Whereas not all people can or would wish to live in these places, there is a lot that people can do to learn from the Okinawa and its companion blue zones. These practices are based on the determinants of health that include biological, behavioral, social facilities; broadly, the determinants of health could be divided into four groups, nutrition, lifestyle, environment, and genetics. The interrelationships between these categories determine individual and population health.. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
In a society that often applauds the youth, it is also essential to focus on healthy aging. This society is referred to as an age-friendly environment. An age-friendly society is an environment that enables all persons of all ages to participate in community activities irrespective of their ages. It is an environment that makes older people stay connected to the community. Besides, it assists them in staying healthy and active even at their most bygone moments and offers the appropriate support to those who have no longer the ability to looking after themselves. Most societies have already taken various interventions to implement a more age-friendly community. For instance, in New York, the commission for an age-friendly society is assisting in changing the culture in the state through policy to make it more inclusive of the senior citizens. Strategies such as pharmacy law during disasters and providing consultation services relating to home health care and hospice providers on emergency plans to residents create an age-friendly environment for the New Yorkers.
Studies on centenarians around the world have resulted in the identification of various lessons that the aging population could adopt from the people living in the Blue Zones. The lessons would help to improve healthy aging for the 65-70-year-olds around the world. As such, the assignment aims to summarize the findings on the lessons from Blue Zones regarding Longevity and healthy aging.
Problem Statement
According to the World Health Organization (WHO, 2020), the number of older people is growing faster than the number in all age groups. Besides, the number of persons at the most advanced ages (80 years and above) is growing too and expected to increase from 137 million to 430 million in 2017 and 2015, respectively.
An increase in the older population means that societies need to focus on the welfare of the aging regarding housing, healthcare, and social services (Stringer, 2017). In a modern society where aging is stereotyped and viewed negatively, the population requires support and care to increase the lifespan and quality of life. The healthcare, social, and mental health services in most societies should focus on improving the population’s welfare. As the population of older adults increases, society tends to stereotype and lack usefulness for aging. The majority of the seniors are committed by their families in long-term care as soon as they are above 65 years. The society, however, does not focus on strategies to help the aging population to undergo the process gracefully without prejudices. As a result, the seniors experience aging while sad, lonely, and unsatisfied with their lives after 65 years. Therefore, the aging population (65-70 years) and also the policymakers in the world generally would learn various lessons from the lifestyles of the centenarians in Blue Zones to increase their lifespan and quality of life.
Public health is an essential aspect of the community, and it goes beyond the health status of individuals. And in this regard, it requires a population health perspective. The older people are ranked among the high-risk people in the category of persons affected by health inequalities. The reason is that older people are more prone to several terminal illnesses that present a problem while managing the conditions. Besides, socioeconomic factors, including the level of knowledge, level of income, also affect access to health care treatment. Therefore, shaping a healthy aging life cannot be ignored insofar, both public and personal interventions could be used in improving the wellbeing of the older people. The lessons from the Blue Zones could assist older people in general to live a better life; this is also one of the visions of an age-friendly society.
Lessons from the Blue Zones on Longevity
The seniors aged 65-70 years in societies would learn significant lessons from research findings on centenarians in Blue Zones. The older adults would adopt lifestyle changes to improve their lifespan and enhance healthy aging, which is associated with minimal risks of noncommunicable diseases that occur with aging. Buettner & Skemp (2016) identified and studied the Blue Zones to develop lessons that would be learned by people in other areas of the world to improve their lifespan and health in old age. Buettner & Skemp (2016) identified five areas around the world with an unusually high number of centenarians where people also tend to live longer than average. According to the research on centenarians in the Blue Zones, Buettner & Skemp (2016) developed the Power 9, which comprises nine evidence-based lessons that people can learn from the Blue Zones concerning Longevity.
Firstly, individuals should learn to be on the move most of the time, like the people, the Blue Zones who are naturally on the move (Bifulco & Pisanti, 2017). Urging the seniors to increase their movements and physical activity would improve not only their health but also increase their lifespan. People in Blue Zones are constantly moving as they perform various activities, such as tending their gardens without mechanical equipment. As such, exercise and physical activity would be appropriate for seniors to improve their health and prevent noncommunicable diseases, such as obesity and diabetes (Govindaraju, Atzmon, & Barzilai, 2015). Secondly, Buettner & Skemp (2016) established that people in Blue Zones live their lives with a purpose that adds their life expectancy by up to seven years. Centenarians in the Blue Zones were found to live their daily lives based on a specific purpose that was determined by what they wished to achieve every day. The seniors would also learn to develop a sense of purpose for their daily lives to increase their life expectancy and acquire meaning from daily activities.
Thirdly, Buettner & Skemp (2016) found that people in the Blue Zones also experience stress and downshifts, but they utilize various strategies to manage the stress. By managing stress adequately, people prevent the development of chronic inflammation, which is linked to age-related illnesses. For instance, the Sardinians use a happy hour, while the Ikarians nap to relieve stress and prevent the development of diseases associated with the chronic inflammation caused by stress. Similarly, senior adults between 65 and 70 years would benefit from learning how to manage stress since the majority of age-related illnesses start at this age (Govindaraju et al., 2015). Forth, people in the Blue Zones follow the 80% rule, whereby they eat less and leave 20% of the stomach empty to allow for weight gain or loss (Buettner & Skemp, 2016). The people also eat small meals at a time with their smallest meals in the late afternoon to early evenings. Adopting such eating habits among the 65-70-year-olds in all societies would help in weight management, which, in turn, would prevent the occurrence of age-related diseases.
Fifth, plant-based meals also increase the Longevity of the people in Blue Zones with minimal and occasional consumption of meat (Buettner & Skemp, 2016). The people also eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. The senior adults would learn to modify their diets and adopt plant-based foods to promote their health and lifespan. Also, the people in Blue Zones were found to drink alcohol except for the Californian Adventists. In the other Blue Zones, people enjoy wine moderately and regularly, with 1-2 glasses of wine every day with food or friends. The study found that those who drunk regularly lived longer than nondrinkers. Buettner & Skemp (2016) further established that centenarians in the Blue Zones had a sense of belonging in that they attended faith-based services regularly, which was shown to increase up to 14 years in life expectancy.
Additionally, the people in the Blue Zones prioritized their loved ones who provided family and social support that is critical in the aging process (Riddell, 2016). Families also kept strong ties with the aging parents and grandparents, and they, in turn, invested love and time in their children. As a result, people develop meaning and love, which adds to their long life. The lesson from the Blue Zones would be to encourage the senior people to love and support the aging while finding their usefulness in ways that they can devote love and time to their children and grandchildren. Finally, social circles in the Blue Zones support healthy behaviors that promote health and long life for the aging (Buettner & Skemp, 2016). The social circles help to develop and nurture healthy behaviors, such as physical activities, healthy diets, and strategies to quit smoking or alcohol. Older people would benefit from developing social circles, such as support groups, for providing support and accountability for each other regarding healthy behaviors (Govindaraju et al., 2015).
Conclusion
The lessons from studies on centenarians in the Blue Zones would be useful for the 65-70-year-old senior adults in all societies concerning the prevention of age-related illnesses and the improvement of one’s lifespan. There is an increase in the number of older people in the world, societies with a high number of older adults would learn from the lessons from the Blue Zones to promote healthy aging for the seniors and develop positivity towards aging in the society. The Power 9 lessons from studies on centenarians in the Blue Zones would help to address the view of aging as negative and promote healthy aging.
References
Bifulco, M., & Pisanti, S. (2017). The mystery of Longevity in Cilento: a mix of a good dose of genetic predisposition and a balanced diet based on the Mediterranean model. European journal of clinical nutrition, 71(8), 1020-1021. https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2017.91
Buettner, D., & Skemp, S. (2016). Blue zones: Lessons from the world’s longest lived. American journal of lifestyle medicine, 10(5), 318-321. https://doi.org/10.1177/1559827616637066
Center for an Urban Future. (2019). New York’s Older Adult Population is Booming State-wide. Retrieved from https://nycfuture.org/research/new-yorks-older-adult-population-is-booming-statewide
Govindaraju, D., Atzmon, G., & Barzilai, N. (2015). Genetics, lifestyle, and Longevity: lessons from centenarians. Applied & translational genomics, 4, 23-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atg.2015.01.001
Riddell, B. (2016). Blue Zones: Rethinking the American Landscape. School of City and Regional Planning, College of Architecture, Georgia Institute of Technology. Retrieved from https://smartech.gatech.edu/bitstream/handle/1853/55168/briana_riddell_blue_zones_rethinking_the_american_landscape.pdf
Stringer, S. M. (2017). Aging with Dignity: A Blueprint for Serving NYC’s Growing Senior Population. Retrieved from https://comptroller.nyc.gov/reports/aging-with-dignity-a-blueprint-for-serving-nycs-growing-senior-population/