Dan Buettner – who identified the five places in the world where people live the longest, healthiest lives and founded Blue Zone wellness communities – has been announced as the latest keynote for the 2022 Global Wellness Summit (GWS).

A National Geographic fellow and explorer, Buettner will address delegates at the conference in Tel Aviv, Israel, hosted from 31 October to 3 November.

Buettner is an award-winning journalist and producer and has penned four bestsellers. His new book, Blue Zones American Kitchen, which uncovers the traditional roots of plant-forward cuisine in the US, will be released in December.

A four-part documentary series on lessons from the Blue Zones will also premiere in early 2023.

Since 2004, Buettner has been researching Blue Zone communities (in Sardinia, Italy; Okinawa, Japan; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece; and Loma Linda, California) to understand what keeps people thriving and healthy to age 100.

His discovery: their longevity has nothing to do with self-discipline or complex health and fitness regimes. Instead, it’s these communities’ holistic ecosystems that make the healthy choice the easy one – residents are naturally nudged towards daily movement, a plant-based diet, strong social connections and a sense of purpose.

To find out more about Blue Zones, read Buettner’s interview with Spa Business here.

New research on longevity diets

At the Summit, Buettner will present his latest research on what the world’s longest-lived people eat and the impact that diet has on longevity.

He’ll share insights from his upcoming book, which uncovers the regions and cultures that have shaped America’s healthiest food landscapes. These include some of the most under-recognised plant-forward communities, from Hmong elders in Minnesota to Quakers in New England.

Buettner will explore how a restoration of these specific, traditional healthy eating subcultures around the world could save trillions of dollars a year in healthcare costs.

“The overwhelming finding from my years of research is that the path to a long and happy life is not about changing your habits, it’s about changing your surroundings,” he said.

“The leaders in public policy, architecture and design, wellness real estate and hospitality gathering at the GWS now have the greatest opportunity to design communities and environments so that people’s daily decisions are naturally the healthy ones.”

Buettner is already well acquainted with the GWS having previously keynoted at its 2018 event in Cesena, Italy.

Susie Ellis, GWS chair and CEO, commented: “We’re thrilled to have Dan back at the GWS to share his latest research.

“His work on how total environment and culture are the linchpins of longevity is increasingly changing the way the world thinks about health, wellness, prevention and ageing. And it’s also having a growing impact on public policy, wellness community design, and longevity science, all big topics at this year’s conference.”

More about Dan BuettnerBuettner’s books – named The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest, Thrive: Finding Happiness the Blue Zones Way, The Blue Zones of Happiness and The Blue Zones Solution: Eating and Living Like the World’s Healthiest People – were all global bestsellers.

He regularly appears on global news programmes, including the Today Show, NBC Nightly News and the BBC, and has previously keynoted at the World Economic Forum and Bill Clinton’s Health Matters Initiative.

He also holds three Guinness World Records in distance cycling.

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FEATURE: Event report – GWS 2018 - Bella vita