Fake news? Unpacking the ‘Blue Zone’ myth in Okinawa.

It’s an enticing premise. For decades, the “Blue Zones” have been touted as the five regions of the world where people live longer and healthier lives.

The Blue Zones, first popularized by National Geographic reporter Dan Buettner over 20 years ago, include Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Loma Linda, California; Ikaria, Greece; and Okinawa, Japan. In each place, Buettner found that people lived well into their 100s with relatively low rates of chronic diseases. 

Buettner’s work, which expanded into books and a 2023 Netflix documentary series, helped launch a global wellness trend that promises to unlock the secrets of longevity. But what if everything that’s been told about these regions isn’t entirely true? New research is challenging the foundational data behind the Blue Zones, suggesting that the idea of these areas as extraordinary hot spots for longevity may not be as simple as it seems.

At the center of the critique is Saul Justin Newman, a senior research fellow at University College London. In September, Newman was awarded an Ig Nobel Prize from Massachusetts Institute of Technology for past research, which found that the very factors credited with promoting long lives — diet, community and genetics — might not be the primary drivers of longevity in these regions. The real secret to longevity — according to Newman — is poor recordkeeping.

“These claims are devastatingly silly when you rack them up against any sort of meaningful evidence,” Newman said.

In a 2019 study, Newman tracked down over 100 centenarians worldwide, only to find that many of them were, in fact, not as old as official documents suggested. In Japan, Newman found a 2010 investigation that revealed that more than 230,000 individuals who were registered as over 100 years old had actually died years earlier.

Newman argues that the Blue Zones may have been misrepresented due to errors in birth records, a common issue in areas with high poverty and limited access to health care.  In regions where birth certificates are rare or unreliable, it’s possible that people who are much younger than reported are being classified as centenarians, artificially inflating longevity statistics.

His findings have raised serious questions about the accuracy of the data that Buettner and others have used to tout the success of the Blue Zones. The idea that Okinawa, for example, is home to an exceptionally high number of healthy centenarians is based on figures that may not hold up under scrutiny.

Okinawa: A Blue Zone under fire

Okinawa has long been a centerpiece of the Blue Zone narrative. Its residents are celebrated for their healthy diets, low-stress lifestyles and strong social ties. Many of the region’s centenarians are often cited as proof of the health benefits of traditional Okinawan living. But once you look at the numbers with a bit more scrutiny, the prefecture’s health statistics reveal a more-complicated picture.

Newman has criticized the claims that Okinawa’s healthy lifestyle is the key to its high number of centenarians. Despite its reputation for longevity, Okinawa ranks among the highest in Japan for obesity, particularly among younger generations, and it has one of the country’s highest suicide rates, especially among elderly men.

“There’s a claim that Okinawans are vegetarian,” Newman said. “They are dead last in vegetable consumption in Japan.” 

The island also has the highest body mass index (BMI) out of 47 prefectures in Japan. This challenges the central idea that Okinawans’ longevity is the result of a low-stress, healthy diet. While there’s no doubt that Okinawa’s traditional diet — rich in vegetables like sweet potatoes, carrots and greens — has some health benefits, the broader lifestyle factors don’t fit the Blue Zone model. 

The Blue Zone brand

Despite the criticisms, the Blue Zone concept has proven to be resilient, evolving into a global brand with a wide-reaching influence. 

In Okinawa, Blue Zone tours have become an important part of the local economy. Tourists come to experience the lifestyle of the region’s elderly residents and learn the secrets behind their longevity. These tours often highlight Okinawan cuisine, which includes farm-to-table meals full of colorful vegetables, lean fish and small portions of pork.

While the meals are undoubtedly healthy, they also only tell one part of the story. Younger generations in Okinawa are increasingly turning to fast food, with McDonald’s, KFC and other global chains becoming more popular over the last two decades. This shift in dietary habits, combined with rising rates of obesity, suggests that Okinawa’s diet may be evolving away from the one that’s traditionally been associated with longevity.

Despite these challenges, the Blue Zone brand continues to thrive, with wellness enthusiasts flocking to these regions in search of the secrets to a long life. 

In Okinawa, family-run restaurants like the Emi no Mise have embraced the trend, serving farm-to-table meals to tourists eager to experience the Blue Zone lifestyle firsthand.

One of them is Australian tourist Sean Dooley.

“I mean, there’s no doubt in places like [Okinawa], records would have been destroyed over time,” Dooley said, adding that he’s heard about Newman’s research on the Blue Zones. 

“But that being said, I mean, the people are very old here, so you can’t deny that — and they’re all fit.”

Factors beyond diet 

Dr. Makoto Suzuki, a cardiologist and geriatrician based in Okinawa, has been studying the Okinawan secret to longevity for decades. 

Suzuki said that the answer lies not in diet alone, but in strong social bonds and sense of purpose that many elderly residents share. Suzuki pointed to two key principles: moai and ikigai. Moai refers to a social support group, a network of friends and family who provide emotional and practical support throughout life. 

In Okinawa, older adults tend to maintain close relationships with others, which contributes to a sense of belonging and emotional wellbeing. Ikigai, which translates to “reason for being,” is a concept that emphasizes finding purpose in life, whether through work, hobbies or family. Suzuki has his own ikigai. At 92 years old, he started to learn how to play the sanlele — a three-string instrument that resembles a ukulele. 

Matsuko Yamashiro, who turned 100 in April, credited her long life to a lifetime of farming and close family ties. 

Over an afternoon of coffee and Okinawan doughnuts with her two daughters, Yamashiro said that she’s constantly surrounded by people. 

When asked if she ever feels lonely, she shook her head — almost as if she didn’t understand the question.

As for Newman’s secret to longevity? 

“Don’t smoke, eat a healthy diet — and do some exercise.”

None of us, he said, are walking out of this life as immortals.