The Longevity Hot Spots That Weren’t
In subsequent articles, books, a TED talk, and eventually a hit Netflix series, Buettner and Poulain expanded their research, naming three more blue zones in Ikaria, Greece; Nicoya, Costa Rica; and Loma Linda, California. Along the way, Buettner, who has a gravelly voice and an easy charisma, developed theories about what made the blue zones special. It wasn’t genetics, he suggested, but the environment. Physical movement was built into peoples’ daily routines, through their work, their commutes, and the surrounding geography. Plant-based foods dominated their diets, and they reported a sense of purpose and belonging. The conditions of their lives stood in stark contrast to those of most Americans, Buettner observed on the first episode of the Netflix show, which aired in 2023. And the consequences for the United States were grim. Life expectancy here was notably declining when compared to peer countries. In 2023, it dropped to 76.4 years, the shortest it had been in almost 20 years.
It probably isn’t a coincidence that, as life expectancy diminishes, we have grown fixated on living longer. Longevity has lately emerged as a wellness trend, if you can call it that, given how long humans have lusted after some version of a fountain of youth. In the first recorded story, the Epic of Gilgamesh, a king desperately searches for the secret to everlasting life. But there is undeniably a renewed focus in medicine on uncovering the secrets of long life. Billionaire Peter Thiel, a co-founder of PayPal, has spent millions on anti-aging research, and Google maintains a secretive life science company, Calico, to research the biology of aging. On TikTok and X, longevity gurus and influencers suggest that we can combine lifestyle interventions with biomedical advancements to keep our bodies going—and going, and going.
Buettner didn’t want to confine his and Poulain’s discoveries to written stories that might, at best, be recycled as fables. He wanted to effect real change in a world he saw becoming sicker around him. In 2009, he got a million-dollar grant from the AARP to see whether blue zones could be made, not just found. Buettner selected Albert Lea, Minnesota, near his home in Minneapolis, as the test city for a for-profit company he called the Blue Zones Project. “If you try to convince people to change their behavior, you fail,” he told me. “The whole idea was to change their environment so you’re setting them up for success instead of failure.” In the 15 years since it was established, the company, which Buettner eventually sold to the health care system Adventist Health, has enlisted more than 70 communities and more than four million people in the United States to participate.
