Blue Zones Project Designed To Improve Health In Northwest Arkansas

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The University of Arkansas campus is connected to the Razorback Greenway via Oak Ridge Trail, a multiuse trail that parallels Center Street.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas is working with area partners to improve the overall health and well-being of people in Northwest Arkansas.

The Blue Zones Project, a community-led initiative, is designed to enable people to live longer, happier lives with lower rates of chronic diseases and a higher quality of life. The initiative utilizes best practices in food policy, the built environment and social networks to make healthy choices easier.

Experts from the Blue Zones Project will visit Northwest Arkansas Feb. 12-13 for an assessment to determine community readiness. The Blue Zones team will work with focus groups and hold meetings with representatives of key community partners, including the University of Arkansas, local governments, health care providers, businesses, schools, faith-based organizations, civic organizations, nonprofits and media. The motivation, readiness and leadership of the community will be considered as part of the Blue Zones’ evaluation in Northwest Arkansas.

Faculty, staff and students from the U of A are participating in the site visit, and the public is invited to learn more by attending a Feb. 12 overview presentation and other events on Feb. 13 while the Blue Zones Project team is in the region.

Learn more and RSVP at go.bluezonesproject.com/nwarkansas.

If the assessment finds that Northwest Arkansas is ready for a Blue Zones Project initiative and funding is secured, the region would join 48 communities in 11 states that started a journey to become Blue Zones communities.

About Blue Zones Project: Blue Zones Project is a community-led well-being improvement initiative designed to make healthy choices easier through permanent changes to a city’s environment, policy and social networks. Established in 2010, Blue Zones Project is inspired by Dan Buettner, a National Geographic Fellow and New York Times best-selling author who identified five regions of the world — or Blue Zones — with the highest concentration of people living to 100 years or older. Blue Zones Project incorporates Buettner’s findings and works with cities to implement policies and programs that will move a community toward optimal health and well-being. For more information, visit www.bluezonesproject.com.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2.7 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.