Albert Lea healthy-living project ends - but surveys remain

Star Tribune

In the Blue Zone pilot in Albert Lea, students walked a up the hill to Lakeview Elementary. Albert Lea was the pilot city for Blue Zone where through city and community cooperation helped to give people healthy choices to change their lifestyles to live longer.

Albert Lea residents have until this weekend to complete the Blue Zone project's online questionnaire.

By WARREN WOLFE, Star Tribune

Last update: October 13, 2009 - 11:59 PM

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In a move that resembles keeping the polls open for late voters, leaders of the Albert Lea Blue Zones project announced at the closing celebration Tuesday night that residents have until this weekend to complete an online questionnaire to determine if the city hits its goal of remaking an entire community's health habits.

Organizers had hoped to add 10,000 years to the estimated lifespan of Albert Lea residents -- 5,000 people adding an average of two years each.

So far, participants in the AARP/Blue Zones Vitality Project added an average of 3.1 years. But only 2,300 people filled out the online questionnaire unveiled in May, and organizers aren't saying how many have taken the final one.

If all 2,300 complete it, the city of 18,000 people would gain about 7,130 years.

Residents' first chance to finish that 35-question longevity calculation tool came right after the celebration at Albert Lea High School, where about 1,300 were expected. About 20 volunteers with 40 computers began offering help.

"Our goal was to help people adopt healthier ways of living, help change government and business policies, make the city a healthier place to live," said project director Joel Silverspoon. "We've done that, and the 10,000-year goal is just one measure. Still, we'd like more data."

The pilot project has been followed by national news media, including ABC-TV's "Good Morning America," which will offer another look this morning.

The AARP/Blue Zones Vitality Project was sponsored with a $750,000 grant from UnitedHealth Foundation and based on research of Minneapolis native Dan Buettner.

Organizers say 20 percent of adults in Albert Lea were involved directly in Blue Zones activities and more than 8,000 were affected in some way.

Buettner's organization plans now to choose one or two larger cities for Blue Zones projects. But the Albert Lea project didn't end Tuesday night. Local leaders said they will continue working for changes that make the city a healthier place. Officials from AARP, which has featured the program in its magazine and on its website, said they will return in a year to chronicle progress.

Warren Wolfe • 612-673-7253