Feb 05, 2026 Human Aging and the Blue Zones
In January 2024, WBI published a newsletter article about Blue Zones, regions known for having significantly higher centenarian rates than national averages. The term “Blue Zone” originated from a 2004 study on human longevity conducted in Sardinia. The authors of this study used a blue pen to circle the communities that demonstrated exceptional longevity. Following the Sardinia report, several additional Blue Zones were identified, including Okinawa, a Japanese island; Ikaria, a Greek island; and the Nicoya Peninsula in Northwest Costa Rica. Dan Buettner, a National Geographic Explorer and Fellow, later established Blue Zones LLC in the United States to promote the “Power 9,” a set of nine lifestyle habits derived from the behaviors of the super-agers living in these regions.
The Blue Zones LLC stated that incentivizing individuals in communities to adopt the Power Nine habits could reduce healthcare costs and yield other community benefits. Albert Lea, a small town in southern Minnesota with a population of around 18,000, joined the program in 2009. By 2016, the town reported several positive changes, including a 25% increase in downtown property values, a 96% increase in downtown foot traffic, and a decrease in the percentage of adult smokers from 23% in 2009 to 14.7% in 2016.
In 2020, Adventist Health Care acquired Blue Zones LLC and announced plans to implement the Power 9 principles across the communities it serves. However, there appear to be no peer-reviewed studies verifying the benefits of adopting the Power 9 habits promoted by Blue Zones LLC.
The Blue Zones concept has faced significant criticism from Dr. Saul Newman, an Australian member of the Centre for Longitudinal Studies at University College London. Although his critique has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal, the original version from 2019 was uploaded to Biorxiv.org, a preprint archive, where it has been viewed over 350,000 times. A revised version for 2024 is also available. Among other criticisms, Newman emphasized that determining the ages of super-agers is a complex issue. He argues that the identified Blue Zones around the world may merely reflect inaccuracies in birth and death records rather than an actual presence of higher-than-usual numbers of super-agers—individuals aged 80 and above who maintain cognitive, memory, and physical abilities comparable to those of people decades younger.
In December of last year, a peer-reviewed paper published in The Gerontologist, a highly regarded journal from The Gerontological Society of America, examined the documentary evidence of super-agers in the Blue Zones. The article argues that the age claims associated with the original Blue Zones meet rigorous standards. According to Steven Austad, one of the authors, “Extraordinary claims about longevity demand extraordinary evidence. What we demonstrate in this paper is that the original Blue Zones meet—and often exceed—the strict validation criteria used worldwide to confirm exceptional human longevity.”
Despite addressing criticism regarding the age claims, the commercialization of the Blue Zones concept in America should have led to peer-reviewed studies demonstrating the positive impact of the Power 9 lifestyle habits on health. Currently, the available evidence is primarily taken from news articles published by The Blue Zones LLC. For example, the community of Albert Lea adopted the Power 9 approach in 2009; however, the only data indicating improvements in life in Albert Lea comes from a case study conducted by Blue Zones LLC.
As noted, Adventist Health, a prominent American health care corporation, acquired Blue Zones in 2020. With its expertise and funding, Adventist Health aims to document the health benefits associated with the Blue Zones concept and the Power Nine formula. However, there is currently limited data on the positive effects of implementing the Blue Zones approach in the communities served by Adventist Health. The Power Nine life habits are based on common-sense recommendations that emphasize reducing smoking rates, increasing physical activity, and fostering stronger social relationships. Having peer-reviewed reports available that clearly demonstrate the health improvements in communities adopting the Power Nine habits would greatly benefit both individuals and Adventist Health’s overall performance.