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Author, explorer and founder of the Blue Zones® gets candid about health and happiness

If you ever have the good fortune of meeting Dan Buettner, you’ll quickly discover that he is passionate and equally dedicated to his work of more than 20 years. This author, modern-day adventurer and founder of the Blue Zones® has crisscrossed the globe studying different cultures, life experiences and overall worldviews of some of the most fascinating and inspiring centenarians in search of the secrets to happiness and longevity.

What are blue zones? “A geographically defined area with a population that lives measurably longest,” explains Buettner. His work prompted the founding of the for-profit organization, Blue Zones®, along with the Blue Zones Project® initiative, which strives to help communities establish policies and practices for improving people’s overall long-term health and well-being. Buettner has even introduced a line of affordable frozen meals, called Blue Zones Kitchen, based on the healthy plant-based diets of designated blue zone communities around the world. More recently, his research has been highlighted in the Netflix docuseries, Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones.

On Tuesday, October 8, Buettner will present the keynote during the Opening General Session at the 2024 NRPA Annual Conference in Atlanta. Parks & Recreation magazine recently spoke with Buettner to learn more about blue zones, why we need to change our thinking about our overall health and living habits, and the impact that parks and recreation can have on communities to ensure people of all ages can experience healthier, happier and longer-life outcomes.

Parks & Recreation: How did your childhood and family life influence your interest in nature, outdoor recreation and travel?

Dan Buettner: From age 5 on, my dad would take me to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area [Wilderness], and I learned self-sufficiency and appreciation of nature…. I went to day camp [and] I had a playground at the end of my block, where I spent almost my entire summers. I played Little League baseball, football and hockey. The main social hub for me was [what] we called…“the shanty,” but it was basically the park, North Dale playground. Now, of course, it’s a fancy recreation facility. [From childhood] into my teens, we were at national parks [during summers]. I also live in a place [in] Minneapolis, where nobody in the neighborhood is more than about 400 yards from a park. In my work, we find a huge correlation between access to nature and parks. Parks are the closest thing we get to nature and happiness, [especially] if we’re living in the city.

P&R: In your Netflix docuseries, Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones, you said that worldwide, about two-thirds of the 8 billion people on this planet will die prematurely from an avoidable disease. And, for the first time in a century, life expectancy is dropping in the United States. In order to fix this, you stated, “it’s not by trying to prevent death; it’s by learning how to live.” This seems like a commonsense notion on its face, but what makes this more complicated?

Buettner: Well, about 20 percent of the longevity formula is your genes. The variance in a population only accounts for 20 percent. Fifteen percent is your healthcare — your doctor [visits], the pharmaceuticals you take, your hospital care, etc. — that still leaves 65 percent of the longevity formula. So, two-thirds of the longevity formula is health maintenance, and we don’t really invest in that as a country. We invest $4.4 trillion in that tiny 15 percent. But not…a lot in creating an environment that preserves health, which is mainly my interest.

[I]f you look at…your gym membership or CrossFit or yoga [classes], they all last just a handful of years at best. When it comes to longevity, you have to think of things that are going to influence your behaviors for decades or a lifetime. So, this all leads me to what drives our health, and thereby, our longevity is our environment. And it’s so clear that…access to healthy food [is critical]. Is it cheap? Is it accessible? Is it delicious? Nature…is it nearby? Is it affordable? Physical activity [in] parks is huge. Also, parkways — beautiful areas with trees and wide sidewalks and low or no traffic — and interesting retail along the way that invites the pedestrians, invites walking and biking as opposed to most roads…. Think of every freeway in America. Think of most multilane cars where speed limits and [fuel] emissions are high and noise and chances of accidents are high. That essentially tells us to stay away from these places, which turn out to be our best opportunity for daily physical activity. And we know it’s the daily physical activity over decades that keeps us healthy….

P&R: You have identified five blue zones: Okinawa (Japan), Sardinia (Italy), Loma Linda (California – United States), Ikaria (Greece) and Nicoya (Costa Rica) — and through your research, you pinpointed four common denominators within these regions: Move naturally, Outlook, Eat wisely and Connect. Could you provide a high-level overview of each of these factors?

Buettner: Moving naturally is living in a place where you’re nudged into physical activity — living in a walkable community, having a garden. Gardens are huge. [It’s also about] not looking to have mechanical conveniences do all your work for you [and] thinking about setting up your home so you’re doing a fair number of things by hand, like lifting your own garage door. [Using] a push mower, [using] a hand can opener, kneading dough by hand, all these things add up. And mindlessly moving throughout the day is way better than sitting in front of our TV [at home] or at our offices [in front of a computer] and thinking we’re going to make up for it with a half hour of intense physical activity at the gym.

First, we don’t [all] go to the gym. The reality is people sign up with these memberships and they make it fewer than once a week on average. But number two, that’s not the way we evolve. We evolve moving all the time, so that’s moving naturally. Eating wisely. If you mimic the way centenarians — or people who have made it to 100 — have eaten throughout their lifetime, they’re eating peasant food. They’re eating whole grains, beans, greens, tubers (vegetables). [It’s] very cheap food, but they’ve taken the time to learn how to make that delicious. And the diet of longevity, beyond a shadow of a doubt, is two-thirds complex carbohydrates. We’re not talking jellybeans; we’re talking lentil beans. Outlook. That essentially means having a sense of purpose. That means knowing what you like to do, what you’re good at, what you can contribute and having an outlet for that. The outlet is important — you can’t just have your sense of purpose and sit at home and do it. Connection.  In blue zones, there are always philanthropic [and social] elements to it. If you look at all the data on longevity and happiness, they all converge on having a group of four or five friends who are healthy in the first place, who you can have meaningful conversations with, and who care about you…. And forget all the supplements, super foods…and anti-aging [products]. If you focus on those four factors, it’s worth about 10 extra years of life expectancy. There’s nothing else that will get you anywhere near that.

P&R: Tell me about the concepts of ikigai and plan de vida, which you believe are primary factors to Okinawans’ and Nicoyans’ longevity.

Buettner: It’s their vocabulary for purpose. And as I said, in both instances, it’s having an outlet for doing what you do best in a way that helps others. I mean, we have the vocabulary for purpose, but people don’t really know what it means and they don’t know how to create it for themselves. In blue zones, it’s easier. Does this help my family, my neighbors and my community? And am I good at it? And now let’s do it. It’s a little harder in America. But as I said before, it’s the convergence of what you’re good at, what you like to do, what you can contribute, and then having an outlet for that.

P&R: In the United States, ageism in the workforce and society is a reality. What can we learn from the cultural norms in these blue zones?

Buettner: The older you get, the wiser you are. And while other cognitive elements may diminish wisdom, [that] wisdom is the sum of knowledge plus experience. You can have all the knowledge in the world, but if you don’t have applied experience, it’s not as good. So, we very quickly judge older people on their outward appearance or the way they walk or the way they talk, but we are doing ourselves a disservice…. In blue zones, the older you get, the more honored you are. You’re looked to for resilience, for guidance on running the family. Older people are tapped to help with raising children, with agricultural decisions. With village decisions, almost all the time it’s the older person who is the consigliere to the mayor. The mayor might be younger, but he or she is surrounded by older people.

P&R: And in some of these areas are smaller villages, but they really value that sense of family as well as community.

Buettner: Yes, it’s some of the smaller areas, but also Okinawa has several million people. The idea is scaled; it’s not population dependent as much as it is culturally dependent. Do I value older people or do I dismiss them as recipients of care? It has a huge impact on not only how the older people fare, whether they thrive or whether their community tells them they’re [not respected], but also the community loses a huge opportunity when you’re not actively harnessing their wisdom, their resiliency, and the skills they have to offer — not the skills of a 20-year-old programmer, but it’s often the skills of the grandmother or the grandfather that are hugely valuable.

P&R: According to the World Health Organization, “In 2020, the number of people age 60 and older outnumbered children younger than 5 years old.” That figure is expected to increase exponentially over time. What challenges do you foresee happening if we don’t heed the warnings the data shows us or change our behaviors about health and longevity?

Buettner: There are two challenges that can be overcome. I’m doing a project right now on health-adjusted life expectancy. You’re right, we have more people who are older and those older people are living longer, but also with more sickness. But it doesn’t have to be like that. We know from blue zones that there is a lifestyle or an environment that leads to older people not getting sick and dying very quickly at the end of their lives without huge healthcare. So, I do believe the bucket of recommendations we make with blue zones would help create a 65-plus population who stay healthy. The other thing is, again, we miss the boat if we’re not honoring the wisdom that older people can offer us. We should for sure be eliminating or raising the retirement age, figuring out employment opportunities for older people, sending them the message that they’re valuable, and making sure there’s an outlet for older people. Because as soon as people [hear] 65, they say, “Oh…that’s an economic drain on the city!” If you provide opportunities for them to work…a lot of older people love to work and they’re really good at what they do…they could be contributing to the economy until the day they die. And that’s largely a matter of policy. Most [older people] don’t want to be cared for; [they] want to continue to be valuable, contributing and [being] useful. Maybe [it’s] not as much, but it’s just a shift in orientation from “we’re going to care for elders” to “we’re going to create opportunities for older people” — which is the correct terminology — to contribute to our community, to our families, to our workforce. And those are both very doable policy bundles that we ought to be considering.

P&R: At NRPA, we emphasize the importance of health equity in terms of food security, access to local parks and green spaces, and the creation of Community Wellness Hubs that connect all people to essential programs and services. It’s clear from your work with cities like Albert Lea, Minnesota, that this is top of mind for you as well. What did you glean from the research as it relates to the city’s health outcomes and mortality rates?

Buettner: One of the easiest ways to raise the physical activity level of a population is to clean up parks, have inviting parks that are nearby, that have sidewalks and bike lanes and trees. You can raise the physical activity level of a whole city by 20 percent with these things. So, for physical activities, it’s our best investment. I don’t really understand [what food security is], because there isn’t an American [who] can’t afford a bag of beans and a bag of rice. And when you combine beans and rice and put some inexpensive spices, you have all the protein and complex carbohydrates and…a ton of minerals. [With] the millions of dollars we’re spending on food security, why not just set up programs where they have easy access to learn how to cook with these foods and you can give it away for free? So, I know this is disruptive, but it’s largely because I’m focused mostly on what I’ve seen work around the world. People in blue zones are poor. How about in parks and rec centers, there [are] cooking demonstration classes where everybody gets an Instant Pot and they’re shown how to make these simple blue zones-type foods that are delicious, cheap, easy to make and accessible to [everybody]. I’d like to reorient our thinking.

P&R: What’s your vision for Blue Zones 2.0 and what cities have the highest potential to be designated blue zones?

Buettner: I’m working on…2.0 right now, but these are places that have manufactured healthier populations through a smart policy environment. And I’ve already highlighted Singapore in the Netflix series. But for America, the ones that are most likely to succeed are the cities where the leadership, the mayor [and] city council are willing to put their political equity on the line. In other words, commit to health as opposed to the other competing agenda items. And [I look at] cities where the public sector and the private sector work well together, because it’s never a government mandate. It’s always a handshake between private and public with participation from the community. That’s what works, and they’re interested in evidence-based ways to change their ecosystem in [the] long term…or change their environments [whereby] people in those cities are set up for success. Right now, we’re set up for failure….

We’re set up for physical inactivity, and we’re set up for eating [unhealthy]. So, it’s not until the private and public sector say, “All right, we’re going to lock arms and create an environment where people are set up for success,” where the cheapest, most accessible foods are healthy and where it’s way easier to walk to places than it is to drive. Nobody wants to acknowledge the elephant in the room because the solutions are difficult, and you also have a legislative environment that [believes] it’s not good for business [even though] it’s good for us.

P&R: What role can park and recreation professionals play in helping turn communities into future blue zones? (e.g., advocacy, programming, community outreach)

Buettner: First of all, I think it’s huge. I mean to the extent that you can advocate for a Blue Zone Project, it’s great. Parks and recreation centers are natural places for people to gather, and I think programming aimed at getting people out of their house and connecting in a way that transcends just small talk [is important]. We have a loneliness epidemic here. So, programming that gets like-minded people together in a way that they’re likely to be friends after the interaction would be huge. Number two [is] cooking demonstrations, showing people how to cook cheap, healthy food at home. Right there, that would probably solve 50 percent of the problem. [Also,] pay attention to what people like to do nowadays — not just children but older people. I think pickleball has been the most important social innovation our country has seen in 50 years. I think every park should have a pickleball court. Why? Because it draws older people, and they tend to become friends over time. It’s so obvious [because] you have these tennis courts sitting empty and a ready market of people want to play pickleball.

P&R: How would you finish this sentence, “The secret to living a full life is _____________”?

Buettner: Shaping your environment so the healthy choice is unconscious. And I’d end it with an exclamation mark.

SEE ALSO: “Getting Into the Blue Zone,” Lindsay Collins, Parks & Recreation, June 2022, Vol. 57, Iss. 6.

Vitisia Paynich is Executive Editor and Director of Print and Online Content at NRPA.