Albert Lea, Minnesota: Could it be the next Blue Zone?

By: State: Minnesota | Source: AARP.org

We often hear that there is strength in numbers and that being accountable to someone else better helps us reach our goals. So what happens when not just a peer group, but an entire community comes together with a common goal: to improve overall health and extend longevity? We're about to find out!

If you live or work in Albert Lea you're invited to participate in the first-ever makeover of an entire community. We are bringing in the nation's leaders in health and wellness to transform both the physical and mental spaces in which we reside. The idea is to make a few simple changes to our living spaces so we can all live longer, better without even thinking about it.

In the end, our goal is to add 10,000 collective years of projected longevity to the city of Albert Lea. How many will be contributed to your life?

What is the AARP Blue Zones Vitality Project?

Albert Lea is the center of an innovative, research-backed 10-month pilot project designed to improve the health and projected life expectancy of the city's residents. The goal is to add up to 10,000 years of life to residents in the city of Albert Lea through environmental and individual changes.

The project is funded through a generous grant from the Minnetonka-based United Health Foundation.

Unlike diet and exercise programs, which research has shown have low, long-term success rates, this project winnows the best practices of the world's longest-lived populations to positively impact long-term health and longevity.

Between now and October, the project will work with Albert Lea community leaders to create the kind of community wherein healthy habits more easily ensue. These efforts will engage Albert Lea's residents in making personal changes that will improve their health and increase their longevity in ways that require little or no ongoing effort. The project will combine AARP's and Blue Zones' expertise in healthy lifestyle behaviors to empower Albert Lea to make simple but impactful changes to behaviors and environments.

Founded by Dan Buettner, Blue Zones studies the world's longest-lived populations for wellness information and lifestyle management tools that can help Americans live longer, healthier lives.

Over six years, Buettner and his award-winning team of scientists have journeyed to four specific regions whose populations is reaching age 100 at an extraordinarily high rate. These longevity hotspots are called “Blue Zones.” They are Sardinia, Italy; Okinawa, Japan; Loma Linda, California and the Nicoyan Penninsula in Costa Rica. Buettner and his team of scientists identify and study these regions' common threads in lifestyle behavior, diet, outlook and stress-coping mechanisms. The AARP Blue Zones Vitality Project will bring elements of these common “Blue Zone” practices to Albert Lea.
 
What are the Blue Zone practices that will be put to work in the makeover?

The AARP Blue Zones City Health Makeover will focus on four areas that are crucial to health and longevity: Community Environment, Social Networks, Habitat and Inner-Self.

• Improving Community Environment means making the active option the easy option where people work, live and go to school. Are sidewalks and bike trails available, smooth, safe and well connected to places people need to go? Can employers, community centers, churches, public sports facilities and schools that serve food make more nutritious options available? A community-wide audit will assess improvements that can be made in these areas.
• Emphasizing Social Networks—Research shows that your social circle as a quiet, but powerful impact on your long-term health behaviors. The project will focus on helping participants identify friends that have a positive impact on their health. In addition, it aims to encourage participants to expand their social circles to include more positive influences.
• Improving Habitat means making subtle changes to your home and work environment to increase calories burned and reduce the calories eaten. Experts will help residents improve their personal environment and eat healthier without thinking about it.
• Finding a Sense of Purpose—People who have a purpose in life live approximately seven years longer than people who tend to drift through the day. The makeover will feature seminars to assist Albert Lea residents in identifying their values, passions and talents, as well as find outlets to put these qualities to good use.

Join residents of Albert Lea as they work to improve their individual lives and their communities. Visit www.aarp.org/bluezonesproject to learn more.