Healthy Living Programs
Beach Cities Successes


The Beach Cities are a Blue Zones Community

Thank you for being part of the Blue Zones Project® community well-being transformation in the Beach Cities!

The Beach Cities – Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach – were named a nationally certified Blue Zones Community® in 2016. The Beach Cities are the largest community to achieve Blue Zones Community certification through the successful implementation of Blue Zones Project, which launched in 2010 to make the healthy choice the easy choice for residents and employees of this community. 

The certification announcement comes on the heels of recently released Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index® data showing measurable declines in smoking, overweight and significant daily stress rates throughout the three cities from 2010 to 2015. Collectively, the Beach Cities earned a 2015 Well-Being Index score of 65.9, ranking us among the elite well-being communities in the U.S.

Blue Zones Project in the Beach Cities is a partnership of Beach Cities Health District, Healthways, Inc. and Blue Zones, LLC.

Blue Zones Project in the Beach Cities: By the Numbers

INDIVIDUALS

Outcomes: 24,000 residents completed the Blue Zones Pledge and 3,000 people completed community workshops
Impact: 72% of residents report thriving in daily life and 9% reduction in significant daily stress

POLICY

Outcomes: $8.1 million secured for livability projects and adoption of comprehensive smoke-free policies in Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach
Impact: 17% decrease in smoking and 9% increase in exercise

RESTAURANTS & GROCERIES

Outcomes: 100+ Blue Zones Restaurants serving healthier options and 5 grocery stores committed to healthy shopping
Impact: 15% decline in overweight residents and 4% increase in produce consumption

WORKSITES

Outcomes: 14 employers adopted policies favoring health
Impact: 82% of residents like what they do every day

SCHOOLS

Outcomes: 6 Blue Zones Schools, student gardens and nutrition education, 37 Walking School Bus routes and subsidized healthy lunches
Impact: 25% of Beach Cities elementary school students walk to class

Community Health Snapshot Report 2016

View data from the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index and more about the health of the Beach Cities population in the 2016 Community Health Snapshot Report.