The Viability of Implementing Blue Zone Practices Within the United States
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47611/jsrhs.v12i1.4172Keywords:
Blue Zones, Health, Lifestyle MedicineAbstract
The majority of population health risk factors in the United States are closely related to the social, demographic, environmental, economic, and geographic characteristics of the areas where people live and work (Harold, 2014). Despite an exponential increase in health risks and mortality rates, Blue Zones exist. The term "Blue Zone" refers to an area or community with a high concentration of centenarians and populations of people who have lived to old age free of “disease and/or health conditions such as obesity, cancer, diabetes, and heart issues” (Marston et al., 2021). Factors identified as commonalities between Blue Zones can be applied to communities regardless of their social, demographic, environmental, economic, and geographic characteristics. Thus, the examination and implementation of Blue Zone practices may be applicable to the improvement of public health within the United States. While a variety of actions may be taken to improve health within the United States, this paper examines the viability of the implementation of Blue Zone practices within communities, the implementation of lifestyle medicine framework within healthcare facilities, and ultimately, suggests the implementation of a synthesis of the respective frameworks.
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