Health · Fitness & Nutrition · 3 hrs ago
Sardinian village emerges as a candidate new Blue Zone
Bolotana, a village on the Italian island of Sardinia, is being studied as a possible new Blue Zone, a place where people unusually often live to old age.
In 2024, 10 of its 2,262 residents were at least 100, a rate about 10 times Sardinia’s average and 11 times the US average.
Researchers point to daily walks on steep streets, a largely plant-based diet and regular time with family, friends and neighbors as common habits.
Bolotana’s women ranked second worldwide for life expectancy at age 70 and for surviving from 70 to 100, behind women in Hong Kong.
Researcher Dan Buettner suggests that men’s greater participation in household work and women’s social connections may help explain the result, but the study did not prove these habits cause longevity.
Researchers examined birth, death and baptism records, and further study may help explain why the village has so many centenarians.
Researchers have identified Bolotana, a village in Sardinia, as a candidate for a new blue zone because of its high number of centenarians.
In 2024, 10 of the village’s 2,262 residents were at least 100 years old.
That rate was about 10 times the Sardinian average and 11 times the U.S. average, according to the articles.
Researchers point to daily walking, plant-based foods and social connections as features of life in the village.
The study did not establish that local habits directly cause longer lives.
- Who
- Bolotana’s residents, including its centenarians, and a research team that included Dan Buettner.
- What
- Bolotana has emerged as a candidate for a new blue zone because of its unusually high rate of residents aged 100 or older.
- When
- A 2024 snapshot recorded 10 residents aged at least 100.
- Where
- Bolotana, on the Italian island of Sardinia.
- Why
- Researchers are investigating the village’s longevity and point to daily walking, diet and social ties as possible contributing factors; the study did not establish a cause.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Researchers identified the original Sardinian blue zone in a mountainous area about 68 miles from Bolotana.
Research formally described the original Sardinian blue zone.
Bolotana recorded 10 residents aged at least 100 among its 2,262 residents.
- Village
- Bolotana, Sardinia, Italy
- Population
- 2,262 residents
- Centenarians
- 10 residents aged at least 100 in 2024
- Comparison
- About 10 times the Sardinian average and 11 times the U.S. average
- Research journal
- Frontiers in Aging
- Women’s longevity
- Ranked second behind Hong Kong for life expectancy at 70 and survival from 70 to 100
3 sources
What people are saying
For those of us who want to make it into our 90s and 100s in full health, this place does it better than anyplace else in the world.
According to some indicators, Bolotana is the most extraordinary blue zone.
While the other blue zones are in decline, this one is booming. In other words, every year there are more centenarians.