In Albert Lea Minnesota, a hardware store owner Leo Aekins who was a survivor of a heart attack is the figure head in his city for everyone to get healthier. He was a man who loved meat, cheese and ice cream his whole life but has now switched to becoming a vegan and lost 25 pounds in 10 months in hope to improve his lifestyle. This was all part of the "Vitality project" which was headed by AARP to help their members live longer healthier lives. They used this city as a pilot program to help gain years to the lives of the elderly in this town.
To kick off this project they encouraged everyone in the town to get more exercise, eat less food's high in cholesterol and start snacking on fruits more often. Restaurants in this town put new healthier alternatives on their menu's and they finished a 5 year bike path project in one year to help it's 18,000 residents make is easier to workout and get healthy.
The key to the success of this program was getting everyone in the town involved in the project. But this whole project was not just about weight loss and getting healthy, but also about fostering family relationships and a sense of healthy living habits.
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