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In January 2009, the city of Albert Lea, Minnesota, began the AARP/ Blue Zones Vitality Project. It was sponsored by the United Health Foundation and led by Dan Buettner, the author of The Blue Zone: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest. [1] [2] [3]
The AARP/ Blue Zones Vitality Project was divided into several initiatives. [4] The categories that the initiatives were divided into were habitat, social networking, community, and purpose. Some initiatives were specific to one category while others spanned several categories. [5]
Early in the Vitality Project, organizers invited Dan Burden to come speak to community leaders and do a "walkability audit". [17] In this audit, Burden toured Albert Lea on foot and pointed out ways that the city could make Albert Lea more walkable. [18] Since then, the city has added a sidewalk which connects several portions of a well-traveled path around Fountain Lake. [19]
The city also put together a sustainability committee that's mandate focuses on keeping practices put in place by Vitality Project organizers and volunteers. Their goal is that Albert Lea will have a Vitality Center where leaders of other cities, organizations, and individuals can learn about how making small changes in lifestyle as a community can help improve health and life expectancy. [20]
On October 26, 2009, the Albert Lea City Council voted to designate the lower level of the Jacobson Apartment Building on Broadway Avenue in downtown Albert Lea as the Vitality Center. The space was refurbished and updated to accommodate the Vitality Center. The city's goal was for the Vitality Center be opened in the first part of 2010. [21]
The Vitality Project was featured in a variety of news outlets and publications. Among them are Good Morning America, [22] USA Today, [8] Minneapolis Star Tribune, [23] and Minnesota Public Radio. [24]
According to Star Tribune in 2015, the project resulted in a 70 percent increase in walking in the city, smoking decreasing by 4 percent, and participants in the program losing a combined 4 tons of weight. [25] In 2022, while reflecting on the project, retiring project lead Ellen Kehr noted that smoking had further fallen from 23 percent at the start of the project to 16%. [26] According to themselves, the Blue Zones project has spread to over 70 communities across North America, and impacted approximately 4.35 million people. [27]
This article contains content that is written like
an advertisement. (November 2023) |
In January 2009, the city of Albert Lea, Minnesota, began the AARP/ Blue Zones Vitality Project. It was sponsored by the United Health Foundation and led by Dan Buettner, the author of The Blue Zone: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest. [1] [2] [3]
The AARP/ Blue Zones Vitality Project was divided into several initiatives. [4] The categories that the initiatives were divided into were habitat, social networking, community, and purpose. Some initiatives were specific to one category while others spanned several categories. [5]
Early in the Vitality Project, organizers invited Dan Burden to come speak to community leaders and do a "walkability audit". [17] In this audit, Burden toured Albert Lea on foot and pointed out ways that the city could make Albert Lea more walkable. [18] Since then, the city has added a sidewalk which connects several portions of a well-traveled path around Fountain Lake. [19]
The city also put together a sustainability committee that's mandate focuses on keeping practices put in place by Vitality Project organizers and volunteers. Their goal is that Albert Lea will have a Vitality Center where leaders of other cities, organizations, and individuals can learn about how making small changes in lifestyle as a community can help improve health and life expectancy. [20]
On October 26, 2009, the Albert Lea City Council voted to designate the lower level of the Jacobson Apartment Building on Broadway Avenue in downtown Albert Lea as the Vitality Center. The space was refurbished and updated to accommodate the Vitality Center. The city's goal was for the Vitality Center be opened in the first part of 2010. [21]
The Vitality Project was featured in a variety of news outlets and publications. Among them are Good Morning America, [22] USA Today, [8] Minneapolis Star Tribune, [23] and Minnesota Public Radio. [24]
According to Star Tribune in 2015, the project resulted in a 70 percent increase in walking in the city, smoking decreasing by 4 percent, and participants in the program losing a combined 4 tons of weight. [25] In 2022, while reflecting on the project, retiring project lead Ellen Kehr noted that smoking had further fallen from 23 percent at the start of the project to 16%. [26] According to themselves, the Blue Zones project has spread to over 70 communities across North America, and impacted approximately 4.35 million people. [27]