Allen Brisson-smith

Cheerleaders and a drum corps greeted participants at the Blue Zones kick-off.

By Monica Wright

It’s hard to read local author and explorer Dan Buettner’s New York Times best-selling book Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who Lived the Longest without wondering if longevity is just a few lifestyle changes away: If you adopt the dietary habits of the Okinawans or the regular glass of Sardinian wine he writes about, could you add years to your life, too?

As it turns out, Buettner and AARP were asking the same questions. And to answer them, they turned to the southern Minnesota town of Albert Lea.

A project begins

Two years ago Nancy Graham, editor of AARP magazine, began considering the idea of creating an interactive project on living longer that would engage the organization’s 35 million members. Around that same time Graham began talking with Buettner, who was “thinking in a similar vein” she says, and a plan was hatched: What if Buettner and AARP adopted a town and gave it a wellness makeover? Buettner and his team of Blue Zones experts at the University of Minnesota could revamp the lifestyles of an average American town according to the practices found in the world’s longest-lived populations, and Graham’s staff could document their efforts while encouraging AARP members to adopt the same changes on their own.

Dubbed the AARP/Blue Zones Vitality Project, the collaboration looked to encourage a town to move beyond the usual diet and exercise changes and instead incorporate strategies Buettner discovered while researching regions of the world where residents commonly live beyond the age of 100: developing social networks, enjoying moderate physical activity each day, and finding a strong purpose in life. To that end the AARP/Blue Zones team spent months creating a framework for the experiment and securing sponsorship from the United Health Foundation — the project has a $750,000 price tag — before choosing Albert Lea as the ideal town to play host.

With close proximity to the Blue Zones headquarters in Minneapolis, a manageable population size (18,000), and its own employer base, Albert Lea had everything the Vitality Project was looking for, including plenty of enthusiasm for the experiment. Once the town learned last winter that it would be getting a Blue Zones makeover, citizens quickly came together to help the Blue Zones team figure out how to make their town a healthier place to live in time for the project’s May kickoff. “I really have to say I went out to Albert Lea not knowing what to expect because this is a really ambitious project, and I could not believe how much progress was made in five months,” says Graham. The project’s goal is to add two years of life expectancy to the town’s projected 5,000 participants before October 15.

Longevity in Albert Lea

May’s kickoff event had “all the spirit of a state fair,” according to Graham, with more than 1,200 attendees greeted by cheerleaders, a drum corps, and speakers like Skip Humphrey and Buettner himself. The first step for participants is signing the Vitality Project’s pledge, in which Albert Leans agree to take the Vitality Compass test (this assesses a participant’s projected longevity) at the start and end of the five-month experiment, and the second is to incorporate four of fourteen healthier choices into their lifestyles. Those choices range from growing a garden and using 10-inch dinner plates to attending a weekly worship service or joining a walking club.

Several weeks into the project it’s easy to tell who in Albert Lea is participating; many sport bright blue Vitality Project t-shirts, while others wear blue rubber bracelets. Each morning several “walking school buses” of young students, parents, and grandparents move through town toward the four elementary schools, while at night social walking groups converge for a stroll around the city. Community gardens have popped up on empty city lots, and the farmer’s market offers free cooking demonstrations. Wander into the local grocery stores and you’ll see large blue tags pointing shoppers to “longevity foods,” and it’s not uncommon to hear residents discussing their experiences at various “purpose workshops” aimed at helping Albert Leans set goals for themselves.

According to Victoria Simonsen, Albert Lea’s city manager, the town has thrown itself into the makeover. “Almost every day of the week there are activities going on, like walking groups and interaction at the new community gardens,” Simonsen explains, pointing to the 56 days she’s already added to her life through Vitality Project offerings. The city itself is also making large-scale changes, including $250,000 for improving sidewalks and the completion of a five-mile path around Fountain Lake — considered the hub of the community — for recreation and socializing.

“Albert Lea has gone well beyond my wildest dreams,” says Buettner, who visits the town often to chart its progress. “The reason why it’s off to such a powerful start is because of the visionary nature of Albert Lea’s leadership.” Buettner adds that such vision has a number of benefits to those in Albert Lea who take advantage of the challenge. “The average person will lose eight pounds, but that’s a side benefit. The real benefits are reducing their chances of developing cancer, diabetes, heart problems — life expectancy is a proxy for lowering your risk for chronic diseases.”

With the project’s halfway point on the horizon, Simonsen has been impressed with the sustained level of interest in the Vitality Project’s goals and the fact that so many Albert Leans have embraced them. “There are a number of wonderful options that they make it easy to do something you’ll like,” Simonsen says. “There’s no reason you can’t find things to do differently.”

Monica Wright is assistant editor of Minnesota Good Age.