Buettner’s Blue Zones A Q&A with an award-winning journalist
By Brandon Klein
E
xplorer, National Geographic Fellow, award-winning journalist and producer, and New York Times bestselling author Dan Buettner is the scheduled speaker for the New Albany Community Foundation’s Lecture Series scheduled for Feb. 22. Buettner discovered the five places in the world, dubbed “blue zones,” where people live the longest, healthiest lives. Healthy New Albany sat down virtually with Buettner to talk about his research.
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Photos by David McLain
HNA: The concept of blue zones came from the demographic work outlined in the Journal of Experimental Gerontology. How did that research cross your path? Buettner: It all started in the spring of 2000 when I was leading a series of educational projects called quests, in which a team of scientists investigated some of Earth’s great puzzles. I had heard about Okinawa’s unusual longevity a few years earlier and thought it would be a great quest to investigate what their secrets to good health and long life were. We spent ten days studying, exploring and summing up what we found. At the same time, researchers Gianni Pes and Michel Poulain www.healthynewalbanymagazine.com
