Community plays a strong role in a healthy lifestyle

Blue Zones lifestyle: A Look at Community – Video Interview

What makes a lifestyle that supports a long, healthy life? In the first part of my interview with Dan Buettner, he discussed the components of a healthy lifestyle that he discovered in the Blue Zones of the world, where people live long and healthfully. Now the big questions: what does it take to live this lifestyle? Can we do it on our own? What kind of support matters?  Can we create communities that make healthy choices easier than unhealthy ones?  That certainly does not describe life in most U.S. communities today.  Here’s what Dan Buettner says in the second half of our interview.  Please check it out and then join in for discussion.

What supports a healthy lifestyle?

It seems to me that a lifestyle that promotes good health is like a stool.  A stool resting on just one or two legs is easily knocked over.  A three-legged stool is stable.  Sure, you can still fall off, but it takes a lot more to knock you off a three-legged stool.

The seat of the stool: Personal Choice

Lifestyle choices are personal, and what is “best” or “smartest” involves fitting together many pieces of the puzzle.  Making lifestyle choices that work for us as individuals means both:

Information: Do you know the impact of your choices? Do you know that options other than your current choices are possible? Do you know how to execute the “healthy” choices (how to cook healthfully, how to put together a balanced meal, how to try a sport or strength-training option, how to identify lower-calorie swaps for current choices)?

Decision-making: How do you balance short-term and long-term results? Are you comfortable including how your choices affect YOU as you make lifestyle choices? Have you thought about how your choices reflect what is urgent, what is important and what reflects, “the squeaky wheel gets the grease”?

Leg One: Social Support

Dan Buettner pointed out in the first half of our conversation about the healthy lifestyle choices identified in The Blue Zones that your “tribe” has a tremendous impact on your lifestyle choices.  If the family, friends and co-workers with whom you spend time are inactive, choose unhealthy foods, and eat until the food is gone (rather than until they are no longer hungry), it makes it more challenging for you to choose differently.

So, what can you do?  What would it be like to live “as if” you already are the healthy person you want to become?

~You might join a fitness center or take dance classes that are a good match for you. Find a spot that endorses active living for all without focusing on perfection or extremes.

~Look around for people in your workplace, community organizations, place of worship and among your neighbors and children’s parents who seem to live out a particular life choice you’d like to nurture. If you’re like me, it’s not easy to reach outside your current circle to invite people to meet for a meal or go for a walk.  But when I have, the results have often been tremendously rewarding.

Face it, if the people you spend the most time with now aren’t living the way you want to live, you are paddling upstream trying to be the only one you know making healthy choices.  How will you meet and spend some time with people who share your vision?  If you have taken steps to reach outside your usual circle, please use the comment section below to share your tips of what you did so that others may be inspired and see some new ways to do this.

Leg Two: Professional Support

If the reason that you keep turning back to follow-the-number “diets” is that you don’t really know how to pull together balanced meals or have few ideas of how to prepare healthy food that is also delicious, economical and quick-to-fix (yes, it can be all that!), get some help to learn how.

~Check out websites that provide sound information on healthy eating and physical activity choices, such as the federal MyPlate (including an option to get a personalized MyPlate Plan),

the American Institute for Cancer Research (including the Foods that Fight Cancer and Recipes sections), the Whole Grains Council (including Whole Grains 101 and Recipes) and Oldways’ information on the Mediterranean Diet and other approaches to healthttp://www.wholegrainscouncil.orghy eating choices.

~You don’t expect your teeth to stay clean without a periodic check-up and cleaning at your dentist, do you?  Invest in a session or two with a Registered Dietitian (RD) who can help you set up eating patterns and food choices that will really work for you.  You can find an RD in your area in the “Find a Nutrition Expert” section of the website of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Leg Three: Community Support

This is the big challenge that Dan Buettner addresses in this portion of my interview with him.  He noted that while we can work to make healthy lifestyle choices and align ourselves with others who make healthy choices, it makes a huge difference whether we are living in an environment that makes the healthy choices the easy choices or the difficult choices.

When I asked what he recommended for people living in the latter type of community, he said, “Move!”   To me, there are two ways to address the impact that community has on our lifestyle choices:

~We already choose the section of the community in which we live based on the area with the best school system, the best resale value, the closest commute time and a whole range of factors.  What if we at least consider how different areas support healthy eating and physical activity choices?

~For those not ready to move from where they currently live, as you consider how you can make this world a better place, how about looking at all the spots you already have a role: workplace, community, school system, social organizations.  Run through the nine principles of a healthy lifestyle we discussed in our first discussion of Blue Zones, and see if you can find one or two areas in which you can make the healthy choice easier through your current involvements.  See the resources below for information about creating communities that support lifestyles that lower cancer risk.

Dan Buettner says it takes a “perfect storm” to create a community that supports optimal health.  He notes it’s not easy to change our communities….But since the option to move is not something many of us can or will choose in the present moment, let’s get started on being and supporting the change we want to see!

Let’s talk:  What do you think about the impact of personal, professional and community support for healthy lifestyles?  Please share any tips based on your experiences, too.

Resources

Check the Blue Zones website for information about how Dan Buettner’s organization is helping communities change to support health and longevity.

For ideas about changes communities and the schools, workplaces and organizations in them can make to support healthy living, check the Policy and Advocacy information from the American Institute for Cancer Research.

You can see a summary of suggested action points in the section, Recommendations for Community Action, in the American Cancer Society Guidelines for Nutrition and Physical Activity for Cancer Prevention.  

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Meet the author/educator

Karen Collins
MS, RDN, CDN, FAND

I Take Nutrition Science From Daunting to Doable.™

As a registered dietitian nutritionist, one of the most frequent complaints I hear from people — including health professionals — is that they are overwhelmed by the volume of sometimes-conflicting nutrition information.

I believe that when you turn nutrition from daunting to doable, you can transform people's lives.

Accurately translating nutrition science takes training, time and practice. Dietitians have the essential training and knowledge, but there’s only so much time in a day. I delight in helping them conquer “nutrition overwhelm” so they can feel capable and confident as they help others thrive.

I'm a speaker, writer, and nutrition consultant ... and I welcome you to share or comment on posts as part of this community!

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