Experts question the validity of blue zones concept amid new genetic study

The opinion piece by medical journalist Shelley Wood and cardiologist Eric Topol examines growing doubts about the “blue zones” idea, which originally described a handful of Sardinian villages noted for many centenarians.

The authors cite French geneticist Jean-Francois Deleuze’s AGENOMICS study, launched in 2022 to compare genetic patterns of French centenarians with those from classic blue zones, and note that Deleuze now questions the premise after recent findings.

They argue that the concept has been stretched by wellness trends and commercial interests, and that the scientific basis for attributing longevity to lifestyle alone is increasingly uncertain.