Costa Rica teaches USA how to live healthier and happier

A small region of Costa Rica could become the “master” that teaches Americans how to live healthier, happier lives. It’s the Peninsula of Nicoya, where the second largest number of people over 100 years reside, second only to Japan.

The people of Nicoya do not smoke, eat very little meat, walk everywhere, remain close to their families and have active social lives. These same healthy habits have been observed in other regions including Salinus (on the Italian island of Sardinia), Icaria (Greece) and Okinawa (Japan), where the largest number of centenarians live. Funnily, the region of Loma Linda (California) is also part of this list.

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The secrets of longevity

The data collection was led by researcher Dan Buettner, who had a team of scientists and National Geographic researchers that for the past eight years have explored these regions learning all about the secrets of its inhabitants’ longevity. As it turns out, it may have less to do with diet and exercise and more to do with the social and physical environment in which they live.

Their research was published in the book The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest. Now, their goal is to transfer this knowledge to the United States, through the Blue Zones Project. Their focus is on applying nine powerful yet simple lessons that could give the average American another 12 quality years of life.

Time to change our habits

The United States has one of the world’s most advanced healthcare systems, but is ranked 26 for the rate of life expectancy in developed countries, with an average of 76 years for men and 81 for women. In addition, more than a third of the population suffers from obesity, one in three elderly individuals has Alzheimer’s disease and one in five people admits to feeling lonely.

Obviously, the quality of hospitals and doctors in this country does not guarantee the health and happiness of the population. A deeper change is needed. So the Blue Zones Project encourages American cities to promote a healthier lifestyle, involving the citizens themselves. “It is difficult to change the behavior of people when the environment remains the same,” Buettner said in an interview with the newspaper El Pais. “We must change from legislations to the design of the streets, the schools, the social interactions, even the type of work people do.”

The Blue Zones Project’s success

So far, more than 1,200 companies, 120 schools and 120,000 individuals have joined the project. As a result, some schools have replaced school bus routes by student groups that collect and accompany children to school. Other municipalities have changed plans to build new roads for walking or cycling routes. Also, a growing number of restaurants are adding more and more healthy food to their menus.

The results are very promising. In Hampton (New York), the obesity rate has gone down by 38%. In Iowa, health spending has been reduced by 40% in two years.

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9 steps to a healthier life

Any individual, community or company can join the Blue Zones Project by accessing the services they offer on their website. But a good way to start living more healthily right now is to put the nine Blue Zones principles to work in your everyday life. Do you want to try? Here they are:

1. Keep moving. Find ways to move naturally, such as walking and gardening, using fewer labor-saving devices.
2. Find purpose. And pursue that purpose with passion.
3. Slow down. Work less, rest more and take vacations regularly.
4. Stop eating when you’re 80 percent full.
5. Dine on plants. Eat more veggies and less meat and processed foods.
6. Drink red wine. Do it consistently but in moderation.
7. Join a group. Create a healthy social network not limited to the internet.
8. Feed your soul. Engage in spiritual activities.
9. Love your tribe. Make family a high priority.