About the Presentation: Alison Page spoke to the club about research by National Geographic Society to identify areas where people lived especially long, healthy lives. The investigation identified five regions globally that the team marked with blue circles -- hence they became known as "blue zones". The areas were Sardinia in Italy; Okinawa, Japanese; an Adventist community in Loma Linda, CA; the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica; and Icaria, Greece. The research then focused on characteristics that the communities shared. In an oversimplification, the traits are: physical activity, wise eating, positive outlook, and strong social connections.
Alison showed us slides highlighting US health care issues that affect all of us, cost compared to other developed countries being a major factor. Despite paying far more per capita than the average, health outcomes are not in line with the costs to individuals, companies, and the government (i.e. our taxes).
The slides in pdf form are available by clicking "DOWNLOAD FILES" at the bottom of the Tidings.