Blue Zone Singapore – beyond longevity

[HendryTan]

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion-features/blue-zone-singapore-beyond-longevity

 

Blue Zone Singapore – beyond longevity

Oct 24, 2023 · 5:01 am
 

CHALKING up yet another credential, Singapore was recently added to the list of the world’s Blue Zones – places where people live “extraordinarily long and vibrant lives”, alongside idyllic isles such as Japan’s Okinawa and Italy’s Sardinia.

 

There might have been some fascination and pride, but by and large Singaporeans greeted the accolade more with surprise and scepticism, and not just because the densely built-up city-state couldn’t be more different than the rest of the seeming-placid paradises popularised by the Netflix docuseries Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones.

 

Indeed, Singapore is deemed an engineered Blue Zone 2.0, where the average lifespan has risen as a result of policy, be it in the form of nudges to eat healthier (with different grades of sugar levels on beverage labels, for example) or having an efficient public transport system and park network to encourage people to walk more. And not least, it’s perhaps a reflection of a world-class healthcare system.

 

In the online reactions to Singapore’s Blue Zone honour, Singaporeans piled on the litany of grouses that mark daily life here, from the high cost of living to the hyper-competitive education system and generally stressful pace of life.

 

To be sure, Singapore’s current life expectancy of 84 years – compared to the global average of 73 – is a solid, happy achievement. But many citizens reckon the indicator has more to do with medical advances improving healthcare and extending life here, rather than is any reflection of truly healthy living and wholesome quality of life.

 

 

[goatee malay]

well said 🥰

[Steve5380]

Congratulations!.  Being a blue zone is ONE good sign of living quality.  But it is not comprehensive.   It is based on lifespan, but not on health span, and it says little about spiritual, mental advantages.  I have seen many oldies in SG Chinatown and I don't envy them.

 

In the US a blue zone is Loma Linda in California, a community of Seven-Day Adventists.   But...  to live among Seven-Day Adventists?  YUCK!  Sounds like a lot of incense.  And these religious people should aim at the SHORTEST lifespan, to reach Heaven as soon as possible... ha ha.

 

In a few years I will reach your average lifespan and with a little bit of luck I will amply surpass it even while living in the oil-black zone of Houston.  

[Sweetie Pie]

Long life? Is it possible to have separate indices for stress, poverty, and happiness? I find it difficult to determine whether our society is considered "healthy" based on analysis based on a single criterion; instead, I prefer to combine several indices to see its co-relationships and then able to form judgement out of it.  Otherwise, it is just a blank canvas. 

[auscent]

Taiwan seemed to have superior activities - infrastructure for senior citizens: local tours, drinking water fountains everywhere etc

[Steve5380]

9 hours ago, Sweetie Pie said:

Long life? Is it possible to have separate indices for stress, poverty, and happiness? I find it difficult to determine whether our society is considered "healthy" based on analysis based on a single criterion; instead, I prefer to combine several indices to see its co-relationships and then able to form judgement out of it.  Otherwise, it is just a blank canvas. 

 

You Singaporeans should consider yourself fortunate. "Blue zone" means that at least your bodies are well taken care of,  good nutrition + healthy environment.  This explains why I find so many attractive gays on your island.   And it seems that another bonanza is coming your way.  After China "swallowed" Hong Kong, the economic center of Asia is shifting towards Singapore as international investors are fleeing the totalitarian system of the CCP.