Blue Zones

Blue Zones Albert Lea

Researcher and author Dan Buettner, a St. Paul native and graduate of St. Thomas College, identified places around the world where people live the longest.

He called them “Blue Zones” and identified nine powers or traits that these communities share:

1. Move naturally
2. Know your purpose
3. Downshift
4. 80% rule: Eat until only 80% full or no longer hungry
5. Plant slant: Eat a diet based on plants
6. Friends at 5
7. Put loved ones first
8. Belong
9. Develop an inner circle

Albert Lea was his pilot project in 2009 to see if a community could become a blue zone by implementing those nine powers. More than 1,000 residents attended the kickoff event and more than 4,000 took part in at least 1 Blue Zones activity over the next 10 months. About 800 residents joined neighborhood walking moais (Japanese word for a small club).

The project was a stunning success with participants taking surveys before and after the experiment that showed:

• Participants added an average of 3.1 years to life expectancy
• Participants lost an average of 2.8 pounds
• Tobacco-free worksites increased from 4% to 24%
• Businesses reported a 20% drop in absenteeism
• 95% of participants reported making a new friend

In 2016 Albert Lea became the first certified Blue Zones community in the United States. The community has continued to maintain that certification. A Leadership Team continues to meet on a regular basis, partnering to keep and expand programs that benefit individual and community well-being.

For example, the City of Albert continues to follow a policy of filling in sidewalk gaps or adding sidewalks and trails to make it easier for residents to walk in bike. The City has added nearly 13 miles of sidewalks and trails since 2009.

The community has rallied around Blue Zones with volunteer groups raising money for Community Education’s boathouse, the disc golf course at Bancroft Bay Park, pickleball courts near Frank Hall Park, the Splash Pad downtown and an inclusive playground at Edgewater Park.