Dan Buettner

So if you can figure out how to walk to work and back every day and you're sedentary right now, I would argue there's no greater way to add years to your life expectancy.

Not sexy.

I can't sell you anything, but it works.

And there's plenty of academic research to show that it does.

You start by the insight that you're never going to convince a million people in a city to eat what you want them to eat or get more exercise or socialize.

But you can shape their environment so they do it mindlessly.

How do you shape people's environment?

Number one...

Policy.

You can help a city adopt policies that favor healthy food over junk food and junk food marketing.

You can help a city adopt policies that favor the pedestrian and the cyclist and public transportation over traffic and traffic jams.

And you can also help a city pass policies that favor the non-smoker over the smoker.

Those have enormous impacts on people's mindless decisions over the course of their day, and it sets people up for success.

So when my teams come into a city,

First of all, we audition them.

They have to show us they're ready and they want us.

We don't just show up and sell them.

And number two, we help them identify the policies that will work for their city that will make their environment healthier.

Number three, we have a Blue Zone certification process for...

workplaces, schools, restaurants, grocery stores, and churches.