Redondo Leads Blue Zones Mayor's Challenge

A little more than two weeks into the competition, Redondo Beach is leading the Blue Zones Mayor's Challenge over competitors Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach.

The challenge, which kicked off on Sept. 2, is a competition to see which city can achieve Blue Zones Citizen Certification first. Citizen Certification is reached when a city gets 20 percent or more of its citizens to sign up with Blue Zones and complete at least one action towards improving their well-being.

As of Thursday, Redondo Beach had signed up 7.73 percent of its residents while Hermosa and Redondo had 3.49 percent and 3.32 percent participation, respectively.

The ultimate goal, according to Blue Zones, is to push the beach cities to become the first ever certified "Blue Zones Community." Obtaining that certification involves community involvement on all levels.

"We don’t rely on individual behavior change. Instead we focus on making the healthy choice the easy choice," the Blue Zones website states. "Rather than nagging residents to walk more, we make walking easier and more desirable than driving...By making wholesome foods more prevalent and accessible and less expensive than junk foods, more people will begin to eat healthier naturally."

Those in the beach cities interested in helping their respective city win the challenge can start by signing up on the Blue Zones website.