Equality Health Foundation, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Arizona, and Valley of the Sun United Way today announced the launch of a new Blue Zones Activate effort, a comprehensive policy-based initiative that uses an evidence-based approach to make the healthy choice the easy choice in all the places people spend the most time.

Blue Zones employs a proven solution in collaboration with communities to help people live better and longer. The company’s work is based on research and principles developed by Dan Buettner, National Geographic Fellow and New York Times bestselling author, who identified the cultures of the world—or blue zones—with the healthiest, longest-living populations.

The Blue Zones approach focuses on the single largest determinant of health: the place people live. By improving the Life Radius®—the area close to home where most Americans spend 90% of their lives—Blue Zones transformations have been able to improve overall population health and well-being, raise employee and student productivity, and boost economic vitality and development.