COMM 430 class partners with Blue Zones Project to highlight fitness and healthy eating concepts across campus
UND’s Communication class recently partnered with the Blue Zones Project, a national initiative to promote healthy living. Its list of pilot communities also includes Grand Forks.
Early this month, Emily Gibbens-ButeauAssistant Professor of Education Department of CommunicationHer COMM 430 class hosted an event titled “Live by 9 with Blue Zones” at Memorial Union. Gibbens-Buteau said the event was organized and organized by the class and the Blue Zones Project with the goal of promoting student health. The event featured a variety of vendors and partners, free food samples from Crisp & Green, a new restaurant in Grand Forks offering salads, smoothies, and grain bowls, plus activities, crafts, and giveaways for attendees. was featured.
The event aligns with key points in the UND LEADS strategic plan, including experiential learning on campus and community engagement, Gibbens-Buteau said. Although the Blue Zones mission is well known in many parts of Grand Forks, this plan arose because UND students seemed to have a low level of knowledge.
“Blue Zones is fairly new in the community, and I realized that while a lot of people outside of UND know about Blue Zones, UND students don’t know about it yet,” she said . “We wanted to bring awareness to our campus and hopefully teach students about the different health practices in the Blue Zones. We liked this mission and thought it would be a good fit for our students as well. ”
The term “Blue Zones” was first introduced in 2004 by journalist Dan Buettner. He sought to understand why certain areas had unusually large numbers of centenarians. After exploring the world, Buettner and his team identified his five locations, which were later called the first Blue Zones. They include Okinawa, Japan. Ikaria, Greece. Italy, Sardinia. Nicoya, Costa Rica and Loma Linda, California.
The initiative will launch in Grand Forks in May 2022 and will focus on the nine pillars of healthy living or “Power 9” common to the original Blue Zones, or “Live by” as referenced in the Gibbens Butte event title. We aim to promote “9”. Since then, we have expanded to partner with more than 78 cities across the country.
The Blue Zones Project Power 9 includes:
- Moves naturally: Using your environment for physical activities like walking, swimming, and gardening can be just as beneficial as joining a fitness center.
- Sense of purpose: Have something to get you up in the morning.
- Downshift: Practice a daily routine to relieve stress.
- 80% rule: Stop eating when you are 80% full.
- Plant tilt: Eat a diet rich in plant-based protein, especially legumes. And eat meat sparingly.
- Wine @ 5: Most adult residents of Blue Zones consume alcohol in moderation, in a fun atmosphere with friends and family.
- Belongs to: Membership in nondenominational, faith-based organizations is common among Blue Zone residents.
- Put your loved ones first: People living in blue zones typically have multigenerational families living nearby.
- Correct tribe: A quality social network is the key to longevity.
One way to get your body moving naturally is through yoga, says Marquita Pokrzywinski, an instructor at Zen River Yoga in East Grand Forks. Such exercise benefits both body and mind.
“Yoga is so good for your overall health,” she said. “There are different levels of classes, but all levels are great for your body from head to toe.”
Whitney Miller, marketing and engagement leader for Blue Zones Project – Grand Forks, added that incorporating the Power 9 pillars into your daily life is easier than you think.
“We are making the case that we are impacting people, places and policy areas,” Miller said. “We want to show that Power 9 is an easy and simple principle that can be adapted to everyday life.”
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