These are the world's 5 Blue Zones, where people live the longest lives

Sardinia, Italy, seen from above.Getty Images

• These are several regions in the world where people appear to live longer and healthier lives.
• These places, called Blue Zones, include parts of California, Japan, Greece, Costa Rica and Italy.

There are regions in the world where people are believed to live the longest and healthiest lives.

These areas, dubbed Blue Zones, share several features in common, including eating a primarily plant-based diet, do regular, low-intensity physical activity and have a sense of community and purpose.

Researchers Gianni Pes and Michel Poulain discovered the first Blue Zone, and the concept was built upon by Dan Buettner, who identified additional regions and conducted extensive research into these communities.

Buettner has explained that there is not necessarily anything unique about the genes or willpower of people who live in Blue Zones. Instead, they thrive due to an "interconnected web of characteristics that keep people doing the right things for long enough, and avoiding the wrong things," Insider previously reported.

So what can we learn from the places where people live the longest?