Albert Lea’s AARP/Blue Zones Vitality Project is again gaining national publicity through an article in Newsweek magazine, which shows how an entity can stop reinforcing bad behavior that can lead to heart disease and instead pursue policies to prevent it.

Published online Feb. 5 and in the magazine issue dated Feb. 15, the article, headlined “Crimes of the Heart,” explains the background of the project and the success that came about because of it.

“Isn’t it time we all followed Albert Lea’s example?” the article states. “Diet and exercise programs routinely fail not for lack of willpower, but because the society in which we live favors unhealthy behaviors.”

Until last year, it continues, the residents of Albert Lea were no healthier than other Americans, but then the city became the first to sign on with the Vitality Project. The project does not force people to diet and exercise, but instead encourages them to change their everyday environments to promote a healthy lifestyle.

Through the project, the city laid new sidewalks, built a recreational path and dug new plots for community gardens.

Restaurants made healthy changes to their menus, and schools banned eating in hallways. They also stopped selling candy for fundraisers, the article states. More than 2,600 city residents volunteered, and many formed walking school buses.

“The results were stunning,” the article continues.

Participants lost an average of 2.6 pounds and increased their estimated life expectancy by about 3 years. And health care claims for city and school employees fell by 32 percent over 10 months.

The story then continues with a series of suggestions of creative government programs that can promote similar results as the Vitality Project.

Require graphic warnings on cigarette boxes.

“It’s easy to disregard a black-box warning that smoking is ‘hazardous to your health.’ It’s not so easy to dismiss a picture of gangrenous limbs, diseased hearts or chests sawed open for autopsy … Think of it as truth in advertising.”

Sponsor commitment contracts to quit smoking

This section talked about a test program conducted by Yale economist Dean Karlan in which smokers who wanted to quit smoking deposited the money they would have spent on cigarettes into a special bank account. After six months, those who succeeded got their money back, but those who failed lost it.

 Subsidize whole grains, fruits and vegetables in the food stamp program.

The article states the government should offer incentives for buying produce.

“The underprivileged tend to have disastrously unhealthy diets, and no wonder: $1 will buy 100 calories of carrots — or 1,250 calories of cookies and chips,” it continues.

Set targets for salt reduction.

The average American consumes twice the recommended daily maximum of sodium, the article states.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration should follow New York City’s lead in a campaign encouraging food manufacturers to reduce added sodium over the next five years.

 Incorporate physical education into No Child Left Behind.

“Regular exercise improves mood, concentration and academic achievement,” it continues. “It can also help reverse the growing trend toward type 2 diabetes and early heart disease in children and teenagers.”

Require that sidewalks and bike lanes be part of every federally funded road project.

When sidewalks are built in neighborhoods and downtowns, people start walking, the article states.

The article concluded by explaining how Blue Zones Founder Dan Buettner is looking to take the Vitality Project to a city of 100,000 or more.

“If this works it could provide a template for the government that’s replicable across the country,” said Buettner’s colleague Ben Leedle, CEO of Healthways, which is developing the next phase of the project.

To view the complete article, go to www.newsweek.com/id/233006.