Blue Zones: Aires de longévité exceptionnelle de par le monde

Numerous studies on centenarians have been carried out around the world. Centenarians are the expression of exceptional individual longevity and examples of healthy ageing. Population longevity has deserved less interest. In the framework of the activities linked to the International Database on Longevity, a population with exceptional longevity has been validated in Sardinia. The term of Blue Zone given to that area has been defined as a limited region where the population shares a common lifestyle and environment and whose exceptional longevity has been accurately verified. So far, 4 Blue Zones have been identified around the world, an area in the mountainous part of Sardinia, Okinawa in Japan, the Nicoya peninsula in Costa Rica and the island of Ikaria in Greece. By identifying areas where people live the longest and comparing the characteristics of their inhabitants the search for longevity determinants could be improved as most persons concerned are born and live in the same place and thus are more likely to share the same genetic make-up, early life conditions as well as traditional behaviours. The Blue Zones Community Project, an attempt to transfer the longevity lessons observed in the Blue Zones populations to improve the health status and well-being of local communities in the US is presented and discussed.