Blue Zones Health Set to Expand Nationwide in 2026

Calling all physicians and allied health professionals to join its sustainable, scalable model built for the future of medicine

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Zones Health announced today it will launch nationwide in 2026. The health and well-being organization's rapid growth underscores patients', providers', and payers' demand for something different: a lifestyle-first model shown to slow and reverse chronic disease. The Blue Zones™ Health model combines nearly 25 years of Blue Zones^® anthropological, behavioral and epidemiological research on the world's longest-lived people with the American College of Lifestyle Medicine's (ACLM) evidence-based clinical research—placing it on a value-based chassis to ensure delivery across insurance types.

This announcement coincides with Blue Zones and ACLM's official launch of a Blue Zones Certification Course for physicians and health professionals already credentialed in lifestyle medicine. The certification course provides clinicians with the knowledge and tools to promote longevity and well-being in the exam room and in their communities.

Blue Zones Health brings this to life through an economic and operating model offering funding, scalability, and infrastructure for physicians and health professionals to sustainably deliver lifestyle-first care. The model includes extending care beyond clinic walls through community prescriptions. The organization has implemented this model with 3,000 physicians and specialists, acting as the payer, technology platform, growth engine, and contracting lynchpin. In this next phase, Blue Zones Health welcomes providers ready to expand lifestyle-first care across the U.S.

In-person attendees at LM2025, the ACLM annual Lifestyle Medicine Conference to be held November 16-19 at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, Texas, can learn more about Blue Zones Health's national expansion during a session on Monday, November 17, at 12:30 p.m. CT in Grapevine AB.

Physicians and allied health professionals certified in lifestyle medicine—or currently pursuing certification—who want to bring the transformational power of lifestyle medicine and Blue Zones principles to more communities across the U.S. can apply now to join this national ecosystem serving government payer, employer-sponsored, and direct-to-consumer payment models.

"We are inviting providers across health and well-being disciplines to join a complete ecosystem of support, where every professional—from health coach to physician—can be financially rewarded for doing so," said Ben Quirk, CEO of Blue Zones Health. "We're offering a secure, proven, mission-driven model and the opportunity to make a measurable difference in helping people prevent, manage, and even reverse chronic disease."

"Sustainability and scalability are top of mind for physicians and other clinicians," said Susan Benigas, CEO of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. "The operational expertise and support Blue Zones Health provides empowers clinicians to reach more patients and make meaningful practice changes that reward lifestyle-first outcomes. This is all possible because Blue Zones Health offers those lifestyle medicine practitioners an opportunity to join an integrated, collaborative care team that actively uses evidence-based principles to drive improved patient outcomes."

"Blue Zones Health is our partner for bringing 25 years of population research, community well-being success, and brand excitement to primary care and lifestyle physicians nationally," said Ben Leedle, CEO of Blue Zones and Co-founder of Blue Zones Project^®. "Blue Zones Health plays a vital role in making the research a reality by paying and supporting physicians and aligned health professionals to deliver proven health outcomes at scale and bringing lifestyle prescriptions to the patient's life radius. This is a key step to merging the clinic with our community work to ensure everyone, everywhere has the best opportunity to live better, longer."

ABOUT BLUE ZONES HEALTH

Blue Zones Health delivers lifestyle-first care through a medically supervised model of credentialed professionals—from primary care doctors and specialists to registered dietitians, licensed clinical social workers, physical and occupational therapists, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, coaches, movement therapists, and culinary educators. Its clinically integrated system improves outcomes, expands access, and enhances sustainability by paying stakeholders in a self-sustaining and economically rewarding way—helping providers and patients thrive over the long term.
For more information, visit bluezoneshealth.com.

ABOUT AMERICAN COLLEGE OF LIFESTYLE MEDICINE

The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM®) is the nation's medical professional society advancing the field of lifestyle medicine as the foundation of a redesigned, value-based and equitable health care delivery system, essential to achieving the Quintuple Aim and whole-person health. ACLM represents, advocates for, trains, certifies and equips its members to identify and eradicate the root cause of chronic disease by optimizing modifiable risk factors. ACLM is filling the gaping void of lifestyle medicine in medical education, providing more than 1.2 million hours of lifestyle medicine education to physicians and other health professionals since 2004, while also advancing research, clinical practice and reimbursement strategies.

ABOUT BLUE ZONES ®

Blue Zones employs evidence-based ways to help people live better, longer. The company's work is rooted in explorations and research done by founder and National Geographic Fellow Dan Buettner in blue zones regions around the world, where people live extraordinarily long and/or happy lives. The original research and findings were released in Buettner's bestselling books The Blue Zones Solution, The Blue Zones of Happiness, The Blue Zones, Thrive, and Blue Zones Kitchen, Blue Zones Challenge—all published by National Geographic books. A hit docuseries, Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones, was released on Netflix in 2023. Using original Blue Zones research, Blue Zones works with cities and counties, organizations and individuals to make healthy choices easier through permanent and semi-permanent changes to our human-made surroundings. Participating communities have experienced double-digit drops in obesity and tobacco use and have saved millions of dollars in healthcare costs.

Media Contact:

Alyson Yarberry
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SOURCE Blue Zones Health