Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Fennie, Kristopher

Area of Concentration

Enviromental Studies, Health Culture and Society

Abstract

This thesis focuses on young adult perspectives amidst the data of successful aging and longevity of nonagenarians and centenarians in the world’s five Blue Zones. With lacking data on how the Blue Zone Power 9 principles are affecting young adult lives in Blue Zone regions, this thesis assessed the presence of and usage of the Power 9 principles in the studied young adult population. Chronic disease is also on the rise in several countries, and the imminent threat of disease for many young adults is overbearing. The stress that this worry brings can often lead to heightened cortisol levels in the body, which contributes to inflammation, which has a studied correlation to the be the pathway to several chronic diseases. It was inquired if young adults in regions renowned for healthy aging felt this weighty stress, too, and if they felt they had control over their health. Qualitative interviews were conducted with eleven young adult participants between the ages of 22 and 34 in Uvita, Costa Rica, a coastal town in the Puntarenas Province, one province south of the Guanacaste Province that houses the Nicoya Peninsula, an identified Blue Zone. Their perspectives on the Blue Zone Power 9 principles were recorded and Grounded Theory was used to develop theories about the perceived health and autonomy of the young adult participants. In the Discussion portion, a comparative stance was taken between this new data and the existing Blue Zones research, and analyzed within the framework of the ongoing Blue Zone Projects movement. Several of the same Power 9 lifestyle factors were found to be present amongst young adults in the Blue Zone region, and an “out of sight out of mind” phenomenon made itself known during conversations of prevalence of community sickness in conjunction with fears of acquiring morbid conditions. A generalized sense of contentment with one’s life was reported from all the Costa Rican young adult participants in this study, which firmly parallels the reported sense of satisfaction from the Blue Zone nonagenarians and centenarians.

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