Welcome  to  public  health  moment from  the  University  of  Minnesota. Albert  Lee,  Minnesota  is  the  center  of an  innovative  ten  month  pilot  project  designed  to improve  the  health  and life  expectancy  of  people  who  live  and  work  there. It's  called  the  ARP  Blue  Zones  Vitality  Project. Leslie  Lidl,  a  University of  Minnesota  epidemiology  professor is  co  director  of  the  project. So  the  blue  zones  has  identified four  main  areas  that seem  to  be  really  related  to  long  and  healthy  lives. Those  are,  moving  naturally, eating  primarily  a  plant  based  diet, staying  connected  with  your  family and  your  community  and  your  loved  ones, and  knowing  your  purpose  in  life. Ledell  says  that  instead  of focusing  on  diet  and  exercise, the  project  encourages  the  best  practices of  the  world's  longest  lived  populations. They  include  strategies  such  as  making  it  easier  to get  around  and  encouraging the  development  of  social  networks. Within  the  last  three  weeks,  blue  zones, community  leaders  have  identified  ways  to  add sidewalks  to  Albert  Lee  which  will  greatly enhance  the  community's  ability to  walk  from  location  to  location. This  is  very  rapid  community  change. I  believe  it  happens  because  the  community  as a  whole  was  prepared  for this  with  another  public  health  moment. I'm  John  Finnegan.