Book
Buettner D. The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic; 2008. 304 pages. Second edition 2012.
Why we cite it
Popular book identifying five regions with exceptional longevity and distilling nine shared lifestyle factors (“Power 9”). Relevant to this project because it shows that eating patterns in long-lived populations are embedded within a broader lifestyle context — natural movement, social connection, sense of purpose, stress management — and introduces the Okinawan principle of hara hachi bu (eating to 80% full) as a practical satiety practice.
About the author
Dan Buettner (b. 1960) is a National Geographic Fellow and explorer; BA in Spanish and Literature from the University of St. Thomas (1983); founder of Blue Zones LLC; 5x New York Times bestselling author; 3 Guinness World Records for distance cycling; Emmy-winning Netflix series “Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones” (2023); National Institute on Aging grant recipient. Collaborated with demographers Michel Poulain (PhD, University of Louvain) and Gianni Pes (MD, PhD, University of Pavia), who had originally identified Sardinia as a longevity hotspot. Note: Buettner is a journalist and explorer, not an academic researcher; the Blue Zones methodology has been challenged by Saul Newman (UCL, Ig Nobel Prize 2024) on the basis of age-verification problems in centenarian datasets.
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