Blue Zones Project Blog

Do you ever feel sad or irritable, lose interest in usual activities, not been able to experience pleasure, feel guilty or worthless, and have thoughts of death or suicide? Or have you had difficulty concentrating or making decisions? How about fatigue, feeling restless, slowed down, insomnia, change in appetite or activity?

This beginning of this century may be known as the “Age of Genetics,” just as the end of the last century was known as the “Information Age.”

The harmful effects of smoking have been known since the mid-1950s when the link between smoking and lung cancer was statistically proven. Dr. Morton L. Levin of the Roswell Park Memorial Institute in Buffalo, NY a state cancer research-treatment center, made this connection. Subsequently, he boldly wrote to the presidents of seven leading tobacco companies suggesting that they voluntarily label all cigarette packaging with a warning that excessive smoking is dangerous to health. At that time, it created a firestorm of controversy, with the tobacco companies defending their positions. I had the good fortune to work under Dr. Levin during the summer of 1965 in a National Summer Science program. Packages were finally labeled in 1964.

Our mental health—how we consider the world and our role in it—is every bit as important as our physical health. And just as we must work to stay physically fit, so, too, must we work to keep our minds “in shape.”

We are the second fattest nation in the world. (Nauru, the third smallest nation in the world, is fatter.) What can we do about this? What diet is best? How can we best motivate people to lose weight, keep it off, or—better still—not become overweight in the first place? Statistics show that in 2017, more than two-thirds of the U.S. adult population were considered overweight or obese. Obesity is the second most common cause of preventable death in our country, ranked just after smoking.

The human body is amazing. We take for granted the underlying, almost autonomous functions that keep us healthy and functional. Most times, with a casual nonchalance, we don’t even realize what goes on second by second inside our bodies as we direct our conscious attention to interaction with the outside surrounding environment. Our bodies are more complex than most computers. Organ system examples are fascinating.

What is the value of making lives longer and healthier? Is living longer no matter what more valuable than staying healthy? How does the value of treating aging comprehensively compare to eradicating diseases specifically? These thoughtful questions were addressed using an economic model rather than the traditional biological model in a University of Oxford study, “The Economic Value of Targeting Aging,” and a McKinsey Health Institute paper entitled “Adding Years to Life and Life to Years.”

Over 70% of illnesses are caused by our own behaviors. Most everyone knows there is an association among heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and hypertension with high lipids (fats in the blood). Equally understandable is the concept that we are what we eat.

Rethinking Community Benefit Programs—A New Vision for Hospital Investment in Community Health, co-authored by Dr. Jay Bhatt, a friend and former Chief Medical Officer of the American Hospital Association (AHA), makes the case for healthcare systems to invest in the community outside their walls. Moving upstream from a “repair shop” to a “prevention program” will eliminate unnecessary misery, decrease cost, and ultimately save the healthcare industry from bankrupting itself and the nation.

If you are you interested in your life expectancy based on your location, place your ZIP code into Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s internet site. You can easily compare ZIP codes’ results if you are thinking of relocating.