Voice 1
Hello and welcome to Spotlight. I’m Joshua Leo.
Voice 2
And I’m Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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‘It feels like jumping into heaven.’
Voice 1
This is how one old woman described her feelings. She was holding a young baby in her arms. The baby was her great great great granddaughter. The woman was 102 years old. This may seem like an extremely old age. But she is one of many very old people in her community. This community is in Okinawa, Japan. In today’s programme we will look at this community and others like it. How do people live to such old ages? Is there anything we can learn from these groups?
Voice 2
Okinawa is a series of islands in southern Japan. On the north of its main island lives a very special community. This community contains some of the oldest people in the world. The average length of life here is one of the longest in the world.
Voice 1
Scientists have studied this community. They have studied how the people live. This includes the food they eat, their attitude to life, and how they keep fit. One group has named this community a ‘Blue Zone’. The Blue Zones project finds communities around the world where people live unusually long lives.
Voice 2
This community in Okinawa is not the first “Blue Zone”. In fact, the name “Blue Zone” was first used in Sardinia, Italy. A scientist drew a circle on a map, around a community who lived long lives. He made the circle blue. And so the area was called a Blue Zone. There are now five Blue Zones that scientists identify in the world. The others are in: the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica; Loma Linda in California, the United States; and Icaria in Greece.
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Dan Buettner leads the Blue Zones project. He wrote about the Blue Zones project in the magazine, National Geographic. He said,
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‘Researchers found that the people in these areas live as much as ten years longer than most other people. There are many more 100 year olds. They suffer from fewer diseases. They enjoy more good years of life than anyone else on the planet. Basically, they offer an example for the rest of us to copy.’
Voice 2
Dan Buettner and his team have studied these different Blue Zones. They wanted to understand why many of the people in these communities lived so long. They created a list of things that help people in Blue Zones to live so long. Dan Buettner believes that following the example of these Blue Zones can help anyone live longer and more healthy lives. You may think that people who live long just have good genes from their parents. But scientists have found that genes only make a small influence on the length of someone’s life. It is more important HOW a person lives their life. Dan Buettner says,
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‘You do have the power to add time to your life. Even more importantly, you have to power to add life to your time. You can do things to make your body last longer. You can slow the aging process.’
Voice 1
The experts from the Blue Zones project found four very important rules to help people live longer. They describe these as: move naturally, have the right outlook, eat wisely, and belong to the right tribe.
Voice 2
The Blue Zones project describes moving naturally as living an active life. It does not mean making time for exercise. Instead it means moving around a lot in your normal activities. People who lived in these communities lived active lives, without making time for exercise.
Voice 1
Having the right outlook, or attitude, was also important. The community on the Japanese islands of Okinawa is a good example of this. Here they use the word “Ikigai”. This means a person’s reason for living. They think it is important that everyone has a reason to live. This gives them a positive attitude to life - a reason to live another day. This could be why many of the people living in this community are the oldest in the world. Many people in the different Blue Zones also follow a religion. Dan Buettner and others from the Blue Zones project believe this can also be important.
Voice 2
The Blue Zones study shows that eating wisely is also important in living a long life. This does not mean going on a diet to get thinner. Instead it means eating the right foods every day. Different Blue Zone communities eat different things. But they all have healthy diets. The Blue Zone community in Loma Linda, California eat almost no meat. They are Seventh Day Adventists, a Christian community who obey many of the laws from the Bible very closely. For this reason they also rest one day a week. Each week they take a day to relax and enjoy time with friends and family. This adds to their health.
Voice 1
The community on the island of Sardinia also have an interesting diet. They drink a wine that is particularly healthy. The people of Okinawa show that it is not only WHAT YOU EAT that is important. HOW MUCH YOU EAT is also important. They follow the rule of “Hara hachi bi”. This is Japanese. It means they stop eating when they feel eighty percent full.
Voice 2
The study also found that the people around you can also help you to live longer. All the Blue Zones placed high importance on family and community. They found that having healthy friends helps people to live healthily themselves. People living in communities with close relationships also lived longer.
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One woman who lives in a Blue Zone is Marge Jetton. She lives in Loma Linda, in California. When she was 101 years old she met Dan Buettner. He wanted to know why the people in that community lived so long. Marge had a simple answer:
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‘I do not know why God made me live so long. But look what he did!’
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It does seem amazing that some people can live to such old ages. But the Blue Zones project encourages us all to live healthier lives too. They have given us a guide that could help us live healthier and longer lives. But what do you think? What would you do to live a longer life? Would you want to live to 100 years? You can tell us what you think on our website. This is at http://www.radio.english.net. You can also leave a comment on our Facebook page.
Voice 1
The writer of this programme was Steve Myersco. The producer was Liz Waid. The voices you heard were from the United States. All quotes were adapted and voiced by Spotlight. This program was called “Blue Zones.” We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye. |