On October 4th, Michel Poulain, Professor Emeritus of the Catholic University of Louvain, spoke about ‘Longevity and Blue Zones’ at the the Department of Education and Psychology. Researchers in the SEDUCE 2.0 project attended this event, which was moderated by Prof. Óscar Ribeiro and organized within the Curricular Unit “Advanced Topics of Gerontology and Geriatrics” of the Doctoral Program in Gerontology and Geriatrics (UA / UP).

No dia 4 de Outubro, o Dr. Michel Poulain, Professor Emérito da Universidade Católica de Louvain esteve no Departamento de Educação e Psicologia para falar sobre longevidade e Blue Zones, ou seja, o mapeamento de países e regiões com maior incidência de centenários e cuja esperança média de vida é mais elevada.

On October 4th, Michel Poulain, Professor Emeritus of the Catholic University of Louvain, spoke about ‘Longevity and Blue Zones’ at the the Department of Education and Psychology. Researchers in the SEDUCE 2.0 project attended this event, which was moderated by Prof. Óscar Ribeiro and organized within the Curricular Unit “Advanced Topics of Gerontology and Geriatrics” of the Doctoral Program in Gerontology and Geriatrics (UA / UP). According to Poulain, Blue Zones consist of a set of countries and regions that are mapped and stand out by their high incidence of centenarians and increasing life expectancy.

After providing some examples of projects in Blue Zone areas, Michael Poulain explained the 7 pillars of Blue Zones: 1. Move naturally, 2. Eat wisely; 3. Relax, avoid stress and ensure enough sleep; 4. Family and close relationships are essential; 5. Strong community support based on conviviality and mutual respect; 6. The respect of the planet; 7, Purpose in life and religiosity.

These pillars have also been presented as the key to achieving gerotranscendence, i.e. someone’s ability to overcome the barriers or difficulties associated to the aging process and change of perception.

In the end, Poulain clarified some doubts about the effect of socioeconomic factors and development index on these bluezones.