What will the partnership do?

• The partnership will establish a national and global network of certified Blue Zones clinicians by creating a new certification status: Blue Zones-Certified Physician or Blue Zones-Certified Healthcare Professional, an opportunity exclusively available to physicians and other health professionals who have already earned their certification in the field of lifestyle medicine through ACLM, the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine (ABLM) or the International Board of Lifestyle Medicine (IBLM). ABLM serves as the certification body for physicians in the U.S., while ACLM certifies eligible U.S.-based non-physicians. Outside the U.S., IBLM serves as the certification body. To date, nearly 7,000 physicians and medical professionals have earned their ABLM, ACLM or IBLM certifications in the field of lifestyle medicine, with thousands more who will become certified in 2024.  All will be eligible to pursue Blue Zones Certification beginning in 2025. Through this partnership, a nationwide and global network is being established of Lifestyle Medicine and Blue Zones-Certified Physicians and Healthcare Professionals.  Founded in 2016 by the ACLM, the Lifestyle Medicine Global Alliance (LMGA) now operates as a special project of the IBLM, serving to unite the world’s lifestyle medicine medical professional associations. To date, clinicians in 75 countries around the world have been certified in the field of lifestyle medicine.
• In addition to creating the new certification opportunity, Blue Zones will be recognized as the exclusive founding partner of the Center for Lifestyle Medicine Innovation (CLMI). This Center will serve as a hub for research, innovation, thought leadership and knowledge sharing.
• Blue Zones will be recognized as an ACLM National Training Initiative (NTI) Impact Partner. The NTI provides lifestyle medicine training and certification scholarships to educate and equip one primary care provider (PCP) in each of our nation’s ~1,400 federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), with the goal of infusing lifestyle medicine into our nation’s most under-resourced communities.
• Blue Zones will invite clinicians in the communities it serves to engage in ACLM’s complimentary 5.5-hour CME/CE-accredited “Lifestyle Medicine and Food as Medicine Essentials” course. This online training features an Introduction to Lifestyle Medicine, Nutrition for Prevention and Longevity, and Nutrition for Treatment and Risk Reduction. This free offer represents a $220 per registration savings! Through this, Blue Zones is joining ACLM in support of the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health.
• Through this new partnership, ACLM will provide practice advancement consultative support to health systems integrating lifestyle medicine in Blue Zones Project, Activate™️, and Ignite™️ communities, leveraging ACLM’s comprehensive catalogue of patient-facing and clinical practice tools and resources and implementation briefs amassed through the innovative work of ACLM’s 108-member Health Systems Council.
• Blue Zones and ACLM hope to establish Lifestyle Medicine Interest Groups (LMIGs) on medical school and other healthcare program university campuses within Blue Zones Project, Activate, and Ignite Communities, adding to the more than 140 active ACLM LMIGs.
• Blue Zones and ACLM will introduce the opportunity for the Lifestyle Medicine Residency Curriculum (LMRC) to already established medical residencies within Blue Zones Project, Activate, and Ignite Communities.
• This powerful synergy between care inside and outside hospital and clinic walls signifies a paradigm shift in healthcare. Together, Blue Zones and ACLM are leading the charge to revolutionize the way healthcare is delivered and experienced with a shared vision of healthier, stronger, and more resilient communities across the nation.

Why is this impactful/important? What does it solve?

• Our world needs exponential impact: The U.S. and many nations around the globe are facing unsustainable upward trajectories of lifestyle-related noncommunicable chronic conditions, and their associated cost burden. Blue Zones and ACLM share a mission to change this trajectory both domestically and internationally.
• Lifestyle medicine aligns directly with the Blue Zones goal of helping people live better and longer lives, with ACLM delivering the clinical training and support to Blue Zones Project Communities. This powerful synergy between true “health” delivered inside hospital and clinic walls and supported outside in the community signifies a paradigm shift in healthcare.
• Each primary care provider who becomes trained in lifestyle medicine and Blue Zones principles will touch hundreds, if not thousands of patients.

How will this partnership benefit individuals, patients, and communities?

• Together, Blue Zones and ACLM are leading the charge to revolutionize the way healthcare is delivered and experienced by patients with a shared vision of healthier, stronger, and more resilient communities across the nation.
• Health and healthcare can no longer be siloed. It’s imperative that lifestyle IN medicine and lifestyle AS medicine be integrated—within the healthcare system and supported throughout the outside community. As ACLM Past President David Katz often says, “Lifestyle is by far the best medicine, and culture is the spoon,” noting that it is vital that community design focus on making the healthy choice the easy choice.

What can the public anticipate from a Blue Zones-Certified Physician and what will the new relationship mean for patients?

• Whole-person health is the clinical outcome goal, with this ACLM / Blue Zones partnership providing the pathway for clinicians to be optimally trained to address whole-person care, as opposed to the status quo approach of diagnosing symptoms and treating them with ever-increasing quantities of pills and procedures. Lifestyle medicine-trained providers are equipped to treat root causes of disease, with added Blue Zones training supporting the entire health ecosystem.

What is the benefit to physicians / healthcare professionals to become Blue Zones Certified?

• Lifestyle Medicine / Blue Zones Certified Physicians and Healthcare Professionals will be showcased by and integrated into Blue Zones Project Communities, with those details to be determined.
• A growing number of states, municipalities and communities are awakening to the fact that the current disease and disability care system is neither sustainable nor in the best interest of patients or providers; they are clamoring for solutions and interested in infusing Blue Zones principles and clinical approaches into their communities—with Lifestyle Medicine and Blue Zones Certified Providers soon to be promoted as the foremost authorities.
• Patients are also awakening to the fact that the vast majority of medical professionals have received little, if any, training in treating root causes of disease. Patients are beginning to search for physicians and medical professionals who are committed to partnering with them to achieve health restoration, as opposed to a lifetime of disease management that brings with it ever-increasing quantities of pills and procedures.  It will be Lifestyle Medicine and Blue Zones-Certified Physicians and Healthcare Professionals who will soon be the most sought-after clinicians across the U.S. and around the world—partnering with patients to add years to lives and life to years.

Why are lifestyle medicine-certified physicians and healthcare professionals rather than other specialists exclusively eligible to vie for the opportunity to become Blue Zones-Certified Physicians and Healthcare Professionals?

• Lifestyle medicine physicians and other medical professionals who are certified by either ACLM, ABLM or IBLM are the only clinicians who have documented evidence of effective, evidence-based training and clinical proficiency in the field of lifestyle medicine and ability to prescribe, as treatment, intensive therapeutic lifestyle intervention (ITLC) using the six pillars of lifestyle medicine: a whole food, plant-predominant eating pattern, regular physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, positive social connections, and avoidance of risky substances. This skillset aligns with Blue Zones’ Power9® lifestyle habits of the world’s healthiest, longest-lived people.

What healthcare professionals would be eligible to be certified as a Blue Zone provider?

• Through this partnership, all who are eligible to sit for the ABLM and IBLM exams and have successfully passed the exams, leading to ACLM, ABLM or IBLM certification, will be eligible to vie for the opportunity to become recognized as a Blue Zones Certified Physician or Healthcare Professional.  When we refer to “all who are eligible to sit,” this includes all MDs and DOs and all doctorate and master’s level health professionals.  Select bachelor-level healthcare professionals are also grandfathered in as eligible IF they were licensed to practice in a field that now requires master’s-level training (e.g. physician associates, nurse practitioners, registered dietitians.)

What are the current and past Blue Zones Project communities?

• Currently, more than 75 communities across North America have joined Blue Zones Project. The population health solution includes communities in Arizona, California, Minnesota, Iowa, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Oklahoma, Oregon, Washington, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Wisconsin.

Does this new certification only apply to providers in BZ project communities?

• No, any ABLM-, IBLM- or ACLM-certified clinician can become BZ-certified regardless of their practice location in the U.S. or throughout the world.

Will opportunities be created in BZ Project communities for BZ-certified providers?

• Yes! For both Lifestyle Medicine and Blue Zones Certified Physicians and Healthcare Professionals, there will be active promotion of these uniquely trained and equipped clinicians within these communities. The details are yet to be determined.
• Blue Zones Project cities and counties average 50-70% community awareness as the public schools, largest employers, faith communities, and entire neighborhoods participate. This widespread community awareness of the local movement means residents seek out Blue Zones-Approved restaurants, grocery stores, events, and institutions.

Will there be a publicly available list of providers who are Lifestyle Medicine and Blue Zones Certified?

• Yes, there is already a public-facing directory of clinicians who are certified in lifestyle medicine available at LMPros.org, linked to from the ACLM website, www.lifestylemedicine.org. Beginning in 2025, when the opportunity for Blue Zones Certification debuts, the added credential of Blue Zones-Certified will be added to profile listings on the LMPros.org directory which will then be linked to from both the ACLM, LMGA and Blue Zones websites.

What is required to apply to become a Blue Zones Project Community?

• Blue Zones Project success is dependent on the whole community coming together around a common initiative to break down the silos that currently exist so that everyone is working together to improve health and well-being. To date, all successful communities have the following in common and in place before beginning a Blue Zones initiative: Strong, committed leadership across sectors and geographic areas; existing infrastructure; community vision or master plan; demonstration of coalition or collaboration; and demonstrated commitment to well-being improvement at the community level.
• Successful communities have a champion(s) that leads the process of securing funding and educating and driving community stakeholder interest. Past and current project champions include health insurance executives, public health officials, and community leaders. They all have one thing in common: the vision to change their community. Projects are deployed through partnerships with regional sponsor(s). The projects are publicly supported, privately funded, and run for 3-10 years.

If I want to help bring Blue Zones to my community, what do I do, where do I go?

• For specific questions and/or opportunities to explore for your community: Get in Touch – Blue Zones.

Will there be an increase in price for communities seeking Blue Zones Project Community status because of this new element?

• No.

What is the Center for Lifestyle Medicine Innovation (CLMI)?

• The Center, nestled as a special project of ACLM, will serve as a hub for research, innovation, thought leadership and knowledge sharing, recognizing Blue Zones as the exclusive founding partner. The CLMI emerged out of a convergence of the Blue Zones Well-Being Institute and ACLM’s Research, Practice Advancement, and Innovation departments. It will be keenly focused on pilot projects that demonstrate the transformation of both health and healthcare through coordinated lifestyle medicine implementation. Individuals interested in joining ACLM and Blue Zones in advancing research and innovation focused on identifying and eradicating the root causes of disease are invited to learn more at lifestylemedicine.org/clmi.

Will the sharing of data be made possible as a part of this partnership?

• With HIPAA compliance at the forefront, the intent of the pilot projects emanating from this partnership is to generate and document data that evidence lifestyle medicine as the field of medicine—available to one and all—that enables successful reach of the Quintuple Aim. This partnership represents the integration of lifestyle IN and lifestyle AS medicine—within the healthcare system and throughout the outside community—working together to support the creation of cultures in which the healthy choice is the easy choice—supported by a trained and equipped clinician workforce.