Living to 100? Response

*Please respond to my 2 classmates posts. Refer specifically to the assigned readings and video in your posts. Video: Dan Buettner. (2011). What If "It's the Environment, Stupid"? [16:17]. TEDMED. Dan Buettner. (2009). How to Live to Be 100+ [19:39]. TEDxTC. Course Reading: Hardin, Jessica; Brewis, Alexandra; Trainer, Sarah; Sturtzsreetharan, Cindi & Wutich, Amber. (2021). Fat in Four Cultures: A Global Ethnography of Weight in Samoa, Paraguay, Japan and the US. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Post two substantive responses to classmates (min 100 words). 1. Dana Ziccardi posted: In the video presentation, Dan Buettner discusses nine common denominators that cultures with longevity share. Among these are the absence of exercise programs, instead natural activity incorporated during the day such as walking as a means of transportation, climbing stairs at one’s home or gardening all provide the necessary physical activity for a long life. Taking time to slow down during the day and having a sense of purpose are also important aspects of longevity. Diet, not dieting, plays a huge role as well. A plant-based diet with a small amount of wine and only eating until one feels 80 percent full are other discoveries that Dan Buettner made during his study of these cultures. He also states that these longevity cultures have close lifelong ties with family and friends. Putting family first, being connected to a faith-based organization and belonging to a group of like-minded people who share the previously mentioned qualities, are crucial to living longer (Buettner, 2009). Instead of the prescribed exercise programs and fad diets that we are bombarded with here in America for weight loss and longevity, it seems environment is what plays the most significant role in terms of health. According to Buettner (2011), this can be achieved by implementing policies that encourage healthy lifestyle and eating habits, accessibility to natural exercise through parks and walkways and expanding social connections. These ideas were implemented in one Minnesota town and the results were impressive. Some of the results included reduced employee absenteeism, smoke free workplaces, an increase in the purchase of healthy foods at grocery stores, weight loss and less feelings of sadness (Buettner, 2011). Buettner’s study shows that the health of each individual is impacted by the community in which they live. It is a complex issue that one solution alone cannot fix. It takes a community working together and supporting each other to promote lifelong health and longevity. Buettner, D. (2009). How to live to be 100+. (Video) TED Conferences. https://www(dot)ted(dot)com/talks/dan_buettner_how_to_live_to_be_100 Buettner, D. (2011). What if, "it's the environment, stupid”?. (Video). TED Conferences. https://www(dot)tedmed(dot)com/talks/show?id=6969 2. Kellie-Ann Davis posted: After viewing Dan Buettner’s TED speeches, “What if it’s the environment, stupid” and “How to live to be 100+” it is believed that culture does influence habits and attitudes. Dan brings up a crucial point that 90% of the causes of the numerous preventable diseases that affect our country today are caused by our lifestyle and surroundings, with only 10% of our DNA determining how long we live. Additionally, he draws attention to the fact that billions of dollars is being spent on diseases like diabetes, cancer, heart diseases, and strokes that can be prevented when instead we should be investing more in maintaining and leading a healthy lifestyle that will lengthen our life. Additionally, Buettner stated that he had spent more than ten years working with national geographics to pinpoint the many regions of the globe where members of various populations have been able to live longer. These groups followed what Dan calls the 9 simple rules which included a plant-based diet low in simple carbohydrates and a few glasses of wine each day. They lived 4–14 times longer than other populations because they had a definite purpose in life and actively practiced their beliefs. Rather than exercising regularly, these people engaged in everyday activities that compelled them to be active every day, burning more calories than someone who worked out regularly at a gym, their healthy lifestyle meant that they had few or no chronic illnesses. Based on his years of research on communities whose lifestyle and environment allowed them to live longer lives, Buettner was able to devise a method to extend the lives of other populations. Additionally, he said that no diet in America today is effective because people eventually give up on them and go back to their previous habits. Buettner (2011) asserts that legislative and environmental changes are essential for change to occur. He recommended that towns and schools adopt rules that would promote healthy living and habits. Dan Buettner. (2011). What If "It's the Environment, Stupid"? [16:17]. TEDMED. Dan Buettner. (2009). How to Live to Be 100+ [19:39]. TEDxTC.