East Hawai‘i and North Hawai‘i outperform the state in well-being trends

East Hawai‘i and North Hawai‘i have been named Certified Blue Zones Communities^®! The community celebration in Waimea drew a crowd with live music, free healthy food samples and a congratulatory program acknowledging community members dedicated to well-being.

North Hawai‘i celebrated their certification on January 4, 2020.

Brought to Hawai‘i by HMSA, Blue Zones Project^® is a community-led initiative with a mission to enhance the well-being of Hawai‘i's people by continually improving the environments where we live, work, and play. Through dedication of community leaders and support from the Blue Zones Project — Hawai‘i Island team, the efforts to make healthy choices easily available have proven successful and have resulted in this milestone.

“We're so proud of our Hawai‘i Island community members. Over the past five years, North and East Hawai'i have had nearly 35,000 residents engaged with Blue Zones Project, to better their own health and the health of their family, friends, neighbors, and community. With that kind of passion, it's no wonder Hawai‘i is one of the healthiest states in the nation." — Kathryn Matayoshi, Senior Vice President and Chief Community Engagement Officer, HMSA

(L-R) Colin Miura - Store Director, KTA Super Stores Waimea; Kathryn Matayoshi - Senior Vice President and Chief Community Engagement Officer, HMSA; Ann Hayashi - Executive Director, Blue Zones Project - Hawaii

The initiative is modeled after the best practices in the Blue Zones regions of the world with the highest concentration of centenarians, or people who live to be 100 years or older. Blue Zones Project implements these best practices within communities and partners with worksites, schools, grocery stores, restaurants, civic organizations and policymakers to improve access to healthy resources. Well-being highlights of the work performed over the five year period include:

• Nearly 35,000 residents have signed the Personal Pledge or participated in a Blue Zones Project hosted activity. 
• East Hawai‘i residents who are engaged with the Project have an overall well-being score that is 4.5 points higher than those who are not engaged with the Project.
• North Hawai‘i residents who are engaged with the Project have an overall well-being score that is 8.3 points higher. 
• Adult smoking, youth smoking and adult obesity have all decreased islandwide.
• More than 14 miles of new bicycle lanes have been added in the county from 2015– 2019. 
• Blue Zones Project has partnered with organizations and the county to help bring more than $104 million in grants and new funding to Hawai‘i Island since the Project’s start in 2015. 
• From 2015–2019, Hawai‘i County has invested $99,816,454 in Complete Streets projects to improve walkability, bikeability, and liveability. 

East Hawai‘i Celebration on December 3, 2019.

"Our goal has always been to make Hawai‘i a nice place to live. Not just the sense of place but for us as people and families, for a healthy lifestyle. I consider this community certification to be a really great thing for all of us. Blue Zones Project represents the lifestyle we strive for on Hawai‘i Island. I congratulate the Blue Zones Project team and the residents of Hawai‘i Island for working toward this and participating in improving wellness in the community." — Mayor Harry Kim

Mayor Harry Kim and Carol Ignacio at the East Hawai‘i Celebration.

Improving wellness for children in public schools:

• Blue Zones Project Approved^™ schools saw improved compliance with state wellness guidelines and scored better than state averages. Seventy-five percent of Hilo-Waiakea schools exceeded state wellness guideline average scores, and 88% of Ka‘u-Kea‘au-Pahoa schools did the same in 2018. (source: Hawai‘i State Department of Education - Wellness Guidelines)
• Available data shows that Blue Zones Project schools saw an average 16% decrease in disciplinary incidents, and 21% reduction in chronic absenteeism since engaging with Blue Zones Project. (source: School Quality Survey)

Healthy options increase bottom line at grocery stores:

• Grocery stores saw a significant increase in produce and water sales since becoming engaged with Blue Zones Project.
• 61% of East Hawai‘i residents and 72% of North Hawai‘i residents indicated that there are always healthy options at their grocery stores.

Overall health and well-being improvement on the job:

• 29 worksites in East Hawai‘i and 14 worksites in North Hawai‘i have worked to make healthy options more readily available for their employees by becoming Blue Zones Project Approved. Employers set aside time for walking breaks and volunteer opportunities, encouraged standing meetings, developed policies to promote healthy snacking and offered workshops for employees to find their purpose. These practices resulted in reduced absenteeism, increased engagement and improved job satisfaction.

Healthier choices at popular, local restaurants:

• 13 restaurants in East Hawai‘i and 10 restaurants in North Hawai‘i became Blue Zones Project Approved. These restaurants offered healthier menu options to meet customer demand. Many restaurants also saw a sales increase of vegetarian and vegan options and improved reviews on platforms such as Yelp.

North Hawai‘i Certification Celebration

"When HMSA launched Blue Zones Project in Hawai‘i with two communities on Hawai‘i Island, they were pioneers in community wellness. I applaud the North Hawai‘i and East Hawai‘i communities for stepping up to the challenge and serving as spectacular examples of community-led change. From the partnerships developed to government support, the community has really illustrated the impact that working together for well-being can have at a grassroots level." — Dan Buettner, Blue Zones founder and National Geographic explorer

Hawai‘i Island Leadership Team

Special MAHALO to the incredible Hawai‘i Island Leadership Team for their dedication to the health and well-being of Hawai‘i Island and for continuing the momentum in years to come!

Join the Well-Being Movement!

Email our team to learn more about partnering with us to make healthy choices easier at your worksite, school, grocery store, restaurant, or faith-based organization.
Check out all participating organizations.

Sign up to receive community updates!
Learn more at www.bzphawaii.com