When Albert Leans pledge to become a part of the AARP/Blue Zones Vitality Project, they agree to change several components in their personal environment so that a healthier lifestyle will follow.

Blue Zones Founder Dan Buettner said the components don’t come from him personally; they come from places around the world that have had longevity success.

In the personal pledge, an Albert Lean first agrees to take the free Blue Zones Vitality Compass, a four-minute test created by the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and Blue Zones designed to measure progress toward a healthier, longer life.

Buettner said people should take the Vitality Compass two times: once right away and a second time in early October. This is how success will be measured. It will help people project their possible life expectancy.

People can take the Vitality Compass by going to www.aarp.org/bluezonesproject. If people don’t have Internet access at home, they can take the test at the Albert Lea Public Library.

Secondly in the pledge, people are asked to complete the Active Home and Home Eating Environment checklists to learn ways they can set up their homes to be healthier. These checklists can be found in a Vitality Project pledge packet included in the starter bag.

Then, they must choose four of the following 14 activities:

Attend a purpose workshop.

Top expert Richard Lieder, a purpose specialist who has 30 years experience in coaching people, will lead participants through a three-hour workshop to help people identify their values, strengths and gifts and help them realize where they could use these talents.

Buettner said studies show that people who have a strong sense of purpose live seven years longer than those who do not.

Lieder is ranked by Forbes as one of the “Top 5” most respected executive coaches and by Linkage as one of the “Top 50” executive coaches in America.

Several dates are offered for the workshops, and people can sign up for them through Albert Lea Area Schools Community Education.

Use the vitality coach.

This is an online coaching tool that offers a 30-second daily check-in for six weeks.

This will help people measure their improvements by recalculating their projected life expectancy each day.

 Join a walking Moai.

A Moia is an Okinawan word that refers to a small group of people who meet regularly.

Beginning in June, walking clubs will be formed to help people surround themselves with people who make health a priority.

Buettner said studies show that who a person hangs out with greatly effects their own behaviors. If a person’s best friends are obese, that person is twice as likely to be obese himself.

 Use the longevity grocery list.

Project leaders have developed a grocery list of food that promote health and longevity.

Cornell University Food and Brand Lab has found that if people’s homes are stocked with healthy food, they’re more likely to eat in a way that they will live longer and lose weight.

The longevity grocery list includes foods such as plant-based proteins, grapes and berries, orange fruits, dark green foods, fiber, nuts and tea.

 Switch to 10-inch plates, small bowls and skinny glasses.

The Cornell Lab found that people who eat out of larger plates, larger bowls and wider glasses, consume more than those who eat off of smaller plates, smaller bowls and taller glasses.

Smaller plates, smaller bowls and taller glasses give visual cues to people that they are eating more food.

 Get rid of the television during dinner.

Brian Wansink, professor and director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab, said research shows that people mindlessly eat more calories if they eat while watching television.

Say “Hara Hachi Bu.”

This is a Confucian-inspired adage that has helped Okinawans consume less food.

People say these words before meals to remind themselves to quit eating when they are 80 percent full. It reminds them of moderation.

A bracelet with these words was given out as part of the pledge packet.

Weigh yourself daily.

Doing so rewards people if their weight has gone down or helps them get back in line if it has gone up.

Buettner said a University of Minnesota study that split women up in groups, found that women who weighed themselves every day for two years weighed on average 17 pounds less than the group that never weighed themselves.

Walk your kids to school.

Deemed the walking school bus initiative, this encourages parents and retirees to walk children to and from school.

Encourage children to be a part of the Blue Zones Education programs.

Blue Zones has developed a Blue Zones Challenge program, which helps children take control of behaviors that will determine if they grow up healthy.

Many of the area schools are participating in the program.

 Explore or reconnect with a faith-based service.

Buettner said studies show that people who attend religious services — no matter what faith — at least four times per month live seven to 14 years longer compared to people who do not.

 Volunteer.

Buettner said people who volunteer are much happier than nonvolunteers. They also are proven to have lower rates of cancer and heart disease, he noted.

Grow a garden.

Gardening is proven to lower stress and it is an activity found in the areas throughout the world with the longest-lived people.

The city will develop more community gardens if there is an interest for them.

To find out more, people can contact Jenny Davis, the recreation program supervisor for the Albert Lea Parks and Recreation Department, at 377-4370.

Invite a friend.

Buettner said studies show that people are more likely to succeed at new behaviors if they buddy up with someone else.