Blue Zones Project kicks-off in Marion

With the help of the Blue Zones Project, Marion wants to be the healthiest city in the nation. And Marion City Manager Lon Pluckhahn is leading by example.

Getting choked up while talking about his family - the main reason he decided to start eating healthier and exercising to lose weight - Pluckhahn stood before a full auditorium of Marion residents 115 pounds lighter than he used to be, offering words of encouragement for others in the community to take the Blue Zones Project seriously.

'For anyone in this audience who grew up, or is growing up as the fat kid, I hope my that message is crystal clear - you don't have to be that person,” Pluckhahn said during the Marion Blue Zones Project kick-off event at Linn-Mar High School Tuesday evening. 'You can break the cycle, and even if at the beginning you feel like it's going to be a lonely journey, you will be shocked at the number of people who will step up and help you a long the way.”

The Blue Zones Project is based on ideas from National Geographic writer Dan Buettner's book, The Blue Zones. The book, published in 2008, examined people who live longer and happier lives and what lifestyle characteristics might contribute to their well-being. Now, principles from that book are being enacted in communities around the country, like Marion, to increase the happiness and longevity of residents.

Marion is one of 15 demonstration sites for the project in Iowa. Each demonstration site gets funding and staff to help people learn how to live a healthier life by encouraging citizens and organizations to adopt health initiatives.

An hour before the event started, Linn-Mar high school was packed with residents walking about in blue T-shirts tasting healthy food items like triple berry quinoa, sweet potato chickpea and kale salad and strawberry ruhbarb applesauce.

Jennie Wildman, a 37-year-old Marion resident, and her husband brought their four kids to the event Tuesday night after hearing about it at work and from friends on Facebook.

'I think it's a good idea,” Wildman said, as the group waited in line to try some of the event's healthy food offerings.

Buettner, the project's creator, said he was thrilled to see so many people turn out so early.

'This is beyond the wildest dreams of an author, because, at the end of the day, anyone who sits down and writes a book, they, one - hope people will read it, but two - hope that it will inspire action,” Buettner said. 'And to come and see how many people are filing in hours early and all the families getting involved . . . it's a privilege to attend.”

The Marion kickoff event - which featured music, food samples and free giveaways - came about seven months after the project started in Cedar Rapids last September.

Blue Zones in Cedar Rapids

At this point, Cedar Rapids is still working to become a certified Blue Zones Community, which requires participation from 20 percent of citizens, 25 percent of schools, 25 percent of restaurants, 25 percent of grocery stores, and 50 percent of the top community-identified worksites.

As of Tuesday evening:

' 5,512 people have joined the project and completed at least one action, meaning 14,796 more people need to sign up

' No schools have signed up, meaning 11 more need to join

' One restaurant has signed up, meaning 31 more need to join

' Seven grocery stores in Cedar Rapids have joined, which meets the certification goal

' Eight of the top worksites in Cedar Rapids have joined the project, meaning 2 more need to sign up

Stephanie Neff, community program manager of the Blue Zones Project in Cedar Rapids, said the deadline for all communities to meet their certification requirements is January 2016.

In the mean time, Neff said she's part of a four-person team that's dedicated, full time, to the project and helping the Cedar Rapids community make sure those metrics get met.

'There's always an active effort going on to support worksites and restaurants and schools participating,” Neff said Monday. 'We really serve as providing technical assistance to those organizations in making changes to policies and programs that make healthy choices easier.”

To be a Blue Zones designated worksite, school, or restaurant, each organization takes an assessment to help evaluate its current well-being status. Then, the organization selects actions that increase the long-term well-being of employees, students, or customers that are most relevant to them.

For example, a school might pledge to establish a health and wellness council that meets regularly with the school, or a restaurant might pledge to offer only healthy sides, like vegetables and salads.

From there, there may be other requirements, such as having to get a certain number of employees to join the Blue Zones Project, or completing actions in specific categories, for an organization to get Blue Zones designation.

'It really does take a team of these organizations to work through the design process so we can, in Marion, or Cedar Rapids, go do a presentation to the work site and help them look at what they're currently doing and what some opportunities might be and help them collect the documentation to help get that designated status,” Neff said. 'That's really what we're here for.”

Neff said that, if people want to help, they can take the personal pledge to do at least one thing to improve their well-being online. And, if they want to help their workplace, or their neighborhood school get involved, they can reach out directly to their community's team through the Blue Zones website, at https://iowa.bluezonesproject.com/ .

'I think the success of the project is based on the involvement and engagement of the community,” Neff said, adding there are many opportunities to learn more about the project by attending volunteer trainings or becoming an ambassador for an organization. 'I just encourage people to make a connection and improve their own well-being and help improve the well-being of others.”

The Blue Zones Project is part of the Iowa Healthiest State Initiative, which intends to make Iowa the healthiest state by 2016.

According to the 2013 Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, Iowa is now 10th in the nation when it comes to being physically, emotionally and mentally healthy.

The initiative is funded by a 5-year, $25 million grant from Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

The Blue Zones Project is scheduled to kickoff in Iowa City on Thursday at the Downtown Sheraton Hotel, 210 S. Dubuque St., at 5:30 p.m.

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