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Emmy-winning Filmmaker Dan Buettner on Blue Zones

The bestselling author explores places around the world where people live longer and better

Edward Linsmier in Greece and the Nicoya Peninsula in . Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine.

What makes a blue zone

These places have the lowest rate of middle-age mortality or the highest concentration of centenarians on their continent. In places where people live the longest, they’re not being tempted to do the things that make us sick in America. They live in an environment that sets them up for success.

How exactly

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In your new book The Blue Zones Kitchen you talk about the importance of eating a largely plant-based diet

The main foods you see in every blue zone are greens, grains, tubers, nuts and beans. It’s the peasant diet. For entertainment news, advice and more, get

What s your favorite recipe

Sardinian minestrone. I got it from the Melises, the Guinness world record holder for the longest-living family. Every day they have the same lunch: sourdough bread, a small glass of red cannonau wine and a bowl of minestrone.

In recent years you ve introduced the blue zones approach to several U S cities What have you learned

Our most recent city was Fort Worth, Texas. They credit us with lowering the smoking rate 31 percent since 2014. The city also improved its overall Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index score by almost four points during the project. The way we did it was not trying to convince 1 million people in the Fort Worth area to eat their veggies, start running and socialize more. We did it by changing the environment. We said, “Here are 30 things that have worked elsewhere—such as adding sidewalks and bike lanes, creating ordinances to encourage nonsmoking. Pick eight of them and we’ll help you implement them over the next three years.” It turns out that in every community we’ve worked with, the people said, “We can do that.”

What are the broader implications of this nationwide

We have a $3.7 trillion health care problem that ain’t going away. We need to stop beating the dead horse of individual responsibility and switch the focus to changing people’s environments. It’s completely delusional to think we’re going to get 330 million Americans to eat the right diet, do 300 minutes of physical activity a week and live a purpose-driven life. We need to improve the ecosystem we live in, one that sets Americans up for success. More on entertainment AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS