Blue Zone and Main Aspects of Gerontology - Research Paper Example

Blue Zone: Lessons on How to Live Longer Lecturer’s Due Dan Buettner holds three distinct Guinness World Records for distance biking. Besides that, he is also famous for his renowned book ‘Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived Longest.’ The research included in the text consists of various theories that explain how different people manage to live over a hundred years (Buettner, 2008). However, the main aim of the discussion below is to criticize the information provided by Dan Buettner including the data collected and the methods used to gather it. Recent scientific proof denies the validity of some of the theories given by the text. Additionally, the author used subjective information from the centenarian rather than the objective data. The meaning of the study is to seek the validity of the books information and identify some of the study’s drawbacks. Thesis statement The research on living longer explains a number of theories based on data collected and used as facts, but scientists disapprove the knowledge’s validity. Key arguments The major reason for writing the book and carrying out the survey was to identify some of the lifestyle practices conducted by different people, which make them live longer (Buettner, 2008). The health rate in United States is quickly deteriorating lowering the mortality rate. According to the book, Sardinian sheepherders, Okinawa in Japan, Loma Linda in California, Icaria in Greece and Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica, are five different regions with some of the oldest people in the world. The author identifies that each region has a unique edible material that boosts the health of a person. The second observation indicates that nine lifestyle factors also contribute to the increased number of years on earth. Surprisingly, only one rule deals with physical exercise the rest are social factors. The author believes that most of the people who lived long were either born or chose to exist among people who provided emotional sustenance and inspiration. The youth of American and the whole United States is the main audience for the book, and they are the people who are to benefit from the information provided by the content covered in the book. A summary of the nine guidelines includes; first, people should move naturally. In most Blue Zone areas, the prime mode of transport involves walking. People involve their bodies in physical activities such as playing with children or gardening. Second, an individual ought to understand their purpose in life in order to reduce cases of stress. Third rule engrosses downshifting, which means take life easy without complicating things. The human being needs to rest, sleep and have leisure time. Fourth step describes the 80% diet rule, which states that a person should eat only to sustain 80 per cent of their total consumption. Fifth, an individual should eat a plant based diet while, reducing the rate at which he or she eats meat. The sixth rule encourages people to drink red wine as it is a powerful antioxidant, which aids fight cancer and reduce cholesterol (Todorovska, 2013). Seven, a person should fit in a healthy social network. The eighth rule advocates for personal possession of a belief system, which helps link healthy lifestyle to one’s spiritual life; for example, the use of Yoga among the Okinawans (Willcox, 2001). Finally, the ninth rule dictates that the family should come first, before anything or anyone else (Buettner, 2008). Despite the validity of his information, numerous attributes about the theories stated above raise questions. One of the phenomena explained bases its argument on geographical facts; however, the information varies from place to place. With each area having a different factor from the other, no information supports the other. Furthermore, some of the aspects do are not necessarily unique to that region only. For example, Sardinia, Italy, the team encountered a 102 year old man who hiked a minimum of six miles every day (Hills and Kanamori, 2008). However, many people around the world hike daily and also involve themselves in other physical activities but still do not live that long. A second example could involve the lower rates of heart disease in Icaria, Greece and decreased obesity in Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica. All these information varies leading to inconclusive data; especially, by the fact that the features that make them Blue Zones feature in other regions but the results do not match. Some diseases such as diabetes, cancer and heart problems are genetic. Therefore, there is no absolute way on how to prevent a child from inheriting the diseases from his or her parent (Simopoulos, 1993). In such a case, the child does not have the alternative to desire a healthy lifestyle but has to grow with the disease. In the text, most of the information explains measures on how to lead a healthy lifestyle in order to avoid certain health conditions, but some conditions are inevitable. As a drawback, the author fails to identify what the genetic based disease population needs to do in order to live longer. Another drawback on the theories is that they tend to lean more on a personal basis. The theories dictate how a person should eat, what to eat and how to lead personal life; however, there are other macro factors, which do not involve a person’s individual life, but still affect their health (Impact of September 11 events on substance abuse and psychological or mental health in New York, 2002). For example, industrial chemicals released into the atmosphere lead to cancer or disease outbreaks. Some of the factors that influence human health are uncontrollable at a personal level The citizens of America face a high health crisis with the life expectancy of the children being lower than that of their parents (Bettelheim, 2001). For that reason, Dan Buettner wrote the book targeting the American people with the aim of providing beneficial information that would assist in improving the lives of the people. However, the book is only limited to people who do not bear any of the illnesses mentioned. The book does not target people who already live with the diseases; therefore they are non-beneficiaries of the book. Based on health statistical information, a large number of the population ails from ailments such as diabetes, high blood pressure and other psychological disorders. However, the author only talks about preventive measures on how to induce long life limiting it to a healthy people only. The team employs the use of questionnaires on a limited number of centenarians and gathered subjective information from the old people, based on the study design. Qualitative research engrosses the gathering of information directly from the populace involved (Morrison, 2002). However, a major drawback of qualitative research is its subjective nature, which makes it hard to establish the dependability and validity of the approaches and data. The investigation team used the skewed information from the centenarians as facts, which is a great disadvantage since they did not experiment on the data in order to provide any solid proof. Additionally, the study encompasses a limited number of people, which makes the information totally inconclusive. Every study needs a large number of participants in order to assemble a large pool of information that aids in coming up with conclusive facts. Qualitative investigations are vulnerable to biasness that sometimes leads to invalid conclusions (Flick, 2008). The answers and theories gathered from the memories of people over a hundred years old depend on their personal lifestyles. Each response given and stated as a truth depends on the individual opinion of the person, which sometimes is not true and cannot stand as a legitimate reality. Additionally, the fact that the details provided depend on human memory, the information may possess incomprehensible knowledge since the human mind falls prey to forgetfulness or induced perception. Recently, scientist dismissed the some of the facts stated due to the increased variance in the geographical pattern that attribute to the longevity. The lack of consistent information makes the data collected biased; therefore making the information weak. Conclusion In conclusion, the major drawbacks attributed with the examination as mentioned in the discussion above show that the book is not entirely dependable. The major drawbacks include inconsistent information, targeting a specific group and disregarding another, benefiting one group and finally, using subjective information as facts. These drawbacks relate to the study carried out by Dan Buettner and his team with the aim of identifying ways on how to lead a healthy long life. The weaknesses lead to partially incomprehensible, inconclusive and invalid information (Marshall, 1989), which needs scientific back up. References Bettelheim, A. (2001). Aging in America A to Z. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press. Buettner, D. (2008). The blue zone: lessons for living longer from the people whove lived the longest. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic. Flick, U. (2008). Designing Qualitative Research. London: Sage Publications. Hills, B., & Kanamori, M. (2008). The island of the ancients: the secrets of Sardinias centenarians. Millers Point, N.S.W.: Pier 9 ;. Impact of September 11, 2001 events on substance abuse and mental health in the New York area. (2002). Rockville, MD: Dept. of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies. Marshall, C., & Rossman, G. B. (1989).Designing qualitative research. Newbury Park, Calif.: Sage Publications. Morrison, M. A. (2002). Using qualitative research in advertising: strategies, techniques, and applications. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage. Simopoulos, A. P., Herbert, V., & Jacobson, B. (1993). Genetic nutrition: designing a diet based on your family medical history. New York: Macmillan Pub. Co. ;. Todorovska, V. (2013). The Sardinian Cookbook the Cooking and Culture of a Mediterranean Island.. Chicago: Agate Publishing. Willcox, B. J., & Willcox, D. C. (2001).The Okinawa way: how to improve your health and longevity dramatically. 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