Informative Speech On Blue Zone

Taylor Newhart

Professor Peggy Turbett

CO 125 - 76: Speech Communication

18 October 2016

Informative Speech Plan

Purpose

I) The General Purpose of the Speech is to provide information to the audience about Blue Zones.

II) The Specific Purpose is to inform the audience on the lifestyles of the people living in Blue Zones, and how that contributes to the health and longevity of those Blue Zone residents as well as the rest of the world.    

III) your thesis (a single sentence which expresses the main message of your speech).

Audience Analysis

I) The profile of the audience that I will be addressing is composed of college students who attend John Carroll University. They are both men and women who are all young adults around the ages of 18-21.

The audience is at a time in their lives where they may not be as concerned with their health and lifestyle choices as they should, be due to the stresses and the social aspects of college. They may not even know how to life a healthy lifestyle without much prior knowledge of taking care of their bodies. Many students are now living on their own and must make decisions about their health and their lifestyle, and decide for themselves how to properly take care of their bodies. This is where the concept of Blue Zones may peak their interest. Due to the fact that Blue Zones are areas where people live longer and healthier lives than the rest of the world, the lifestyles of the people who live there has been researched and analyzed. The attitudes of the audience would be positively intrigued to discover how these people live their lives due to the fact that they are trying to live long healthy lives as well. These college students may also be making very unhealthy choices in their lives and the concept of Blue Zones could educate and inform them on how truly healthy people live in contrast to their own lives, which could be very eye opening.
II) The novelty of the topic of Blue Zones is that most people don’t even know that Blue Zones exist due to their relatively recent discovery. The topic itself is truly new and the locations of these Blue Zones in the world may truly surprise the audience. The audience will also be informed on how these people live which is a lot different in some ways from the society that we live in. This will be truly informative to the audience due to the fact that most of the information is recently discovered and can actually be applied to their own lives.
Outline
Introduction
I) The life expectancy for the average American was just under 50 years at the beginning of the 20th century. Today, a human’s average lifespan is around 80 years. This great leap forward has little or nothing to do with genes, and everything to do with advances in public health and healthy lifestyles.
II) Blue Zones around the world display incredible census data showing that people in these areas reach 100 at rates 10 times greater than the average person, which largely has to do with the lifestyles of the people living there.
III) These studies conducted by Dan Buettner, who discovered these Blue Zones, and his team at National Geographic have confirmed 9 main similarities between the Blue Zones that they believe are the reason these people live so long.
IV) If the lifestyle traits of the Blue Zone inhabitants could be implemented into our daily lives, then the effects on our longevity could be extraordinary, leading to longer and healthier lives.

Body

I) There are currently five discovered blue zones around the world. These places include Ikaria, Greece, Loma Linda, California, Sardinia, Italy, Okinawa Japan and Nicoya Costa Rica.
A) The first major blue zone is Ikaria, Greece.
(1) New York Times calls it “the island where people forget to die”.
(2) Census data was discovered showing that the Island had an extraordinary amount of heathy centenarians, with a population almost entirely free of dementia and chronic disease.
(3) They have specific lifestyle factors that include drinking goat’s milk, mimicking mountain living, eating a Mediterranean diet, napping, occasionally fasting, drinking lots of herbal tea and making family a priority.
B) The second major blue zone is Loma Linda, California.
(1) The community is home to about 9,000 Adventists, who outlive the average American by a decade.
(2) In this tight-knit community, Adventists associate mainly with other Adventists so they feed off each other’s healthy habits.
(3) Their healthy habits include finding a sanctuary time, maintaining a healthy BMI, getting regular moderate exercise, spending time with friends, snacking on nuts, giving to charity, eating meat in moderation, eating an early light dinner, drinking plenty of water and putting plants in their diet.
C) The third discovered blue zone is in Sardinia, Italy.
(1) The island of Sardinia has nearly 10 times more centenarians per capita than the U.S.
(2) Sardinians are also culturally isolated and this allows them to maintain a very traditional lifestyle.
(3) They maintain this lifestyle through eating lean, plant based diets, putting family first, drinking goat milk, celebrating elders, taking walks, drinking a glass of red wine daily and laughing with friends.
D) The fourth blue zone is Okinawa, Japan.
(1) Okinawa has long been famous for its longevity and the island was originally referred to as the land of immortals.
(2) Residents have less cancer, heart disease and dementia than Americans, while Okinawan women live longer than anywhere else on the planet.
(3) Their lifestyle includes relying on plant based diets, gardening, eating more soy, maintaining “moai”, spending time in the sun, staying active, planting a medical garden and having an attitude.
E) The fifth and most recently discovered blue zone is in Nicoya, Costa Rica.
(1) People in this Central American region are more than twice as likely than Americans to reach a healthy age 90.
(2) Costa Rica enjoys a higher life expectancy than many developed countries despite spending just 15% of what America does on health care
(3) Nicoyan culture maintains healthy lives by drinking hard water, having a purpose to live or “plan de vida”, focusing on family, eating light dinners, maintaining social networks, working hard, getting daily sun and embracing a common history.
II) The studies conducted by Dan Buettner and his team at National Geographic have confirmed 9 main similarities between the Blue Zones, that they believe are the reason these people live so long.
A) Moving naturally is the first common trait
(1) People live in environments that encourage them to move on a regular basis.
B) People maintains a sense of purpose in life.
(1) This sense of purpose can add up to seven years of life expectancy.
C) People maintain less stress in their lives.
(1) Stress leads to chronic inflammation, associated with every major age-related disease.
D) Blue Zone residents use portion control and are careful not to overeat.
(1) “Hara hachi bu” – the Okinawans say this mantra before meals as a reminder to stop eating when their stomachs are 80 percent full.
E) People have plant based diets.
(1) Plant and bean based diets have a positive effect on the health of people living in blue zones.
F) Wine is a daily part of life in most Blue Zones.

(1) Wine in moderation is great for your overall health due to its high amount of antioxidants.

(2) Epidemiological studies done by the Harvard school of Public Health indicate that moderate drinkers live longer than non-drinkers and heavy drinkers.

G) Blue Zone residents maintain a sense of belonging.

(1) People in these areas have strong personal connections with family and friends.

(2) Attending faith-based services four times per month, regardless of the denomination, adds up to 14 years of life expectancy.

H) People who live in blue Zones put an emphasis on the elderly and their family.

(1) They keep aging parents and grandparents nearby, commit to a life partner and invest in their children.

III) Blue Zone Projects are systems where citizens, schools, employers, restaurants and community leaders collaborate on programs that lead the community to greater health and well-being.

A) One of the first Blue Zone Projects was conducted in Los Angeles, California.

(1) Redondo Beach Unified School district employees lost a collective 1,000

pounds
(2) Smoking rates fell 30% while obesity rates dropped 14%.

(3) The number of people who consume at least five servings of fruit or vegetables a day increased by 10%.

B) Another Blue Zone Project was conducted in Alberta Lea, Minnesota.

(1) Participants in the city added a projected 2.9 years to their lifespan.

(2) Healthcare claims for city workers dropped 49%.

(3) Participating businesses saw a 21% decrease in absenteeism.

Conclusion

I) It is extremely interesting to see how the way people live affects how long they live and that it’s not all about genetics.

II) The unearthing of these Blue Zones has led to not only incredible discoveries about our world’s oldest and healthiest populations, but it has also set a standard for how we as human beings can alter our own lifestyles for the better in order to increase our longevity and quality of life.

Citations

Blue Zones History. (2014, March 20). Retrieved October 19, 2016, from https://www.bluezones.com/

Buettner, D., & Skemp, S. (2016). Blue Zones: Lessons From the Worlds Longest Lived. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 10(5), 318-321.

doi:10.1177/1559827616637066

LeWine, H. (2012, January 11). Living to 100 and beyond: The right genes plus a healthy ... Retrieved October 19, 2016, from http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/living-to-100-and-beyond-the-right-genes-plus-a-healthy-lifestyle-201201114092