Longevity is a target for many humans.
While it is still a target for most, there are some areas in the world where people have not only long, but also, healthy lives.
In the early 2000s, Dan Buettner, working with the National Geographic magazine and a team of demographers, scientists and anthropologists, explored five such areas in Okinawa, Japan; Ikaria, Greece; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; and Loma Linda, United States.
Their findings were published in the book The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest.
People in the Blue Zones have among the world’s highest proportions of centenarians (people who live to 100 or more years).
Not only that, they also have lower rates of chronic diseases like cancer, cardiovascular (heart) disease, diabetes and dementia.
The lessons from the Blue Zones should be of particular interest to anyone concerned about ill health in Malaysians.
Years of ill health
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), life expectancy at birth in Malaysia in 2000 was 75.5 years for females and 70.7 years for males.
It improved to 78.6 years for females and 75.5 years for males in 2020, but took a dip t
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