Do We Need To Rethink Okinawa As A Blue Zone?
Okinawans aren’t living as long as they used to
Okinawa was once heralded as the place with the longest living people on earth. There were more centenarians here than just about anywhere, something which earned them a celebrated place amongst the Blue Zones. The term, coined by Dan Buettner, refers to five extraordinary places around the world where people live extraordinarily long lives.
But should Okinawa still be one of them?
Maybe not if you’re a man, according to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan. Okinawa has continued to slump through the rankings and it’s men who are leading the race to the bottom. They now rank 43rd out of 47 prefectures in Japan, with women doing slightly better in 16th place. It’s a steep fall from their once-held place at the tippy top of the list.
Let’s be real.
A life expectancy of 80.73 years is still pretty damn good in the scheme of things. I’ll be cheering if I ever make it to that age, even if my knees won’t be. I’ve done things to my body that I wouldn’t recommend to anyone other than Keith Richards, who seems to be immune to all of life’s vices. But we’re not talking about me or Keith Richards, we’re talking about Okinawa, a place where I was told people live to 100 and I should…
