Blue areas, is the myth of the centenary bubbles in the balance?

«Walking through the hills of the Ogliastra, in Sardinia, enchanting landscapes meet, families who eat fresh fish, the elderly who cultivate the earth and long -lived couples who walk serenely among wild flowers. It is one of the most celebrated places for its exceptional longevity: one of the famous “blue areas”, territories in which there is a disproportionate number of centenarians », writes the New Scientist In a long and fascinating deepening. But this suggestive narrative, at the center of several books and documentaries, is today at the center of a heated debate Among those who consider it a model of health and those who, with data in hand, contest its pseudo-scientific foundations.

Doubts about the existence of the blue areas

«The largest secret of the blue areas is that they do not exist»He explained provocatively to the scientific magazine Saul Newmanresearcher at the University College London. According to the expert, the data on which the theory is based would in fact be dotted with errors and, in some cases, of real fraud. Newman raised an uncomfortable question: many centenarians would actually be the result of incorrect or falsified personal documentserrors accumulated over time and difficult to detect precisely for their systematicity. Thus making the entire theory a little weaker than what was celebrated in recent years.

Among other things, it would not be a new phenomenon: already in the 70s the doctor Alexander Leaf told National Geographic of Soviet and South American populations with exceptional longevity rates. But later he discovered – as in this case, according to Newman in this case – that Many of these data had been inflatedoften to attract tourism or improve social status. Leaf himself, in 1981, admitted the error.

The birth of the concept

The concept of the blue area, however, was officially born only in 1999, thanks to the doctor’s work Gianni Pes and the demographer Michel Poulain In Sardinia. The two identified a high density area of ​​centenary in Ogliastraconfirmed by official documentation and family interviews. They used a blue pen to mark the “verified” centenarians on the map, hence the suggestive name “blue area”. Other areas were added to this discovery: Okinawa (Japan), Ikaria (Greece), Nicoya (Costa Rica), Loma Linda (California) and Martinica.

The journalist Dan Buettner It is perhaps the most famous standard bearer of this narrative vein: made the concept popular in 2005 with a very read article on National Geographic. Over time, he also built around this brand a real feat made of books, series and documentaries on Netflix, nutritional plans and even collaborations with public bodies.

Between genetics, environment and lifestyle

Scientific research has sought in DNA the keys of extreme longevity. In Sardinia, for example, it was discovered that many inhabitants would show off a genetic variant of the bitter taste receptor, Tas2r38associated with a lower desire for fatty foods and a more efficient immune system. In other areas, such as Ikaria, some studies have detected a greater presence of the gene Apoe2protective against Alzheimer’s. But the data are often contradictory: In Okinawa, for example, super -nenars seem to have a genetic predisposition for Alzheimer’s.

Buettner, for its part, attributes longevity to nine environmental and behavioral factors, including light but constant physical activity, the mainly vegetable diet, moderate consumption of wine (especially the Sardinian Cannonau) and a strong social network. “There are no short -term solutions,” he explains. “The only thing that works is to live in An environment that guides our unaware decisionsevery day for decades ».

Many of these behaviors, such as walking often or having close family ties, are scientifically validated. But according to several scholars, they do not yet constitute a sufficiently solid explanation to justify the high concentration of centenarians.

Newman’s attacks and scientists’ response

Newman published last year A detailed analysis (even if not peer-reviewed) of the public registers of various countrieshighlighting that many of the so -called blue areas are found in poor regions, with low level of education and Historically unreliable registry systems. In Greece, for example, the government spared over a billion dollars, discovering that 200 thousand people received unrelated pensions. His conclusion is drastic and surreal: «Poverty and a low life expectancy are paradoxically the best indicators of the presence of centenarians. It is absurd ».

The scientific community he reacted strongly to this counter-analysis, even with one open letter. Pes and Poulain, together with other researchers, have signed a public letter to defend the methodological solidity of their studies, based on original documents, interviews and crossed checks. “We personally interviewed over 200 centenarians,” says Poulain “and I have no doubts about their age».

Also the demographer Marilia Nepomuceno of the Max Planck Institute has confirmed the validity of the methods used in Sardinia, while underlining the importance of verifying the data with multiple statistical approaches and documentary approaches.

Do the blue areas disappear?

Despite everything, even among the founders of the concept of the blue zone there is awareness that The phenomenon could be in decline. Okinawa, once a symbol of Japanese longevity, has lost many of its original characteristics. “It is difficult to think that in a few years everyone has abandoned their healthy habits to eat fast food,” Newman comments ironically. Ikaria and Nicoya also seem to follow the same fate, thanks to the westernization of lifestyles.

Useful myth or dangerous illusion?

The central question on these global longevity oasis therefore remains open: if even the blue areas were not entirely verified in data and numbers, they can however inspire healthy behaviors? For Walter Willett, Harvard doctor, The answer is yes: «The blue areas provide a concrete and understandable image of how various factors – diet, movement, relationships – can contribute to health. This helps to improve public health ».

The concept of the blue area, therefore, can remain useful if interpreted First of all as an inspirational modelnot as absolute truth. There are no guarantees for living up to 100 years but cooking more plant foods, sharing meals with the family and moving every day are valid advice for anyone – with or without a blue area to circulate that specific geographical region.