When "growth" is not such a good thing…
The Medical Service is launching a campaign to make people aware of the negative effects of sedentary lifestyles and poorly balanced diets and encourage them to change their habits. Take your health into your own hands: eat healthily and keep fit!
At times of economic crisis, growth is welcomed as a positive development but when it’s the average BMI (body mass index or weight in kg/size in m2) of the personnel that’s expanding the news is not so good for a company’s health. "The average BMI has been regularly increasing in most countries for the last ten years, and CERN is unfortunately no exception to the rule", says Dr Reymond of the CERN Medical Service (GS-ME). The percentage of members of the personnel with a BMI over 30 has risen by 3% in three years, which is why we’ve decided to launch a health campaign this year."
The initiative has the support of the Management, the Staff Association, the CERN Fitness Club, the three restaurants on the CERN site and UNIQA. "Every lunchtime during the week of 25 to 29 May the Medical Service will be welcoming you at the entrance to the three on-site restaurants and handing out specially designed tablemats providing simple tips on how to keep your weight in check."
But don’t panic. Although steppers will be set up in the Main Building for you to try out, no one is going to ask you to give up your lunch break to take up sport. The message the Medical Service wants to convey focuses more on getting you to change your simple daily habits, such as taking the stairs rather than the lift ("which will burn off twice as many calories as riding a bike at moderate speed!"), walking for at least half an hour a day, etc.
"The stakes are high", stresses Dr Reymond. According to a recent study of some 900,000 adults published by the prestigious medical journal "The Lancet", a high BMI offers a very good indication of the risk of certain diseases and shortened life expectancy. Above a BMI of 25 kg·m-2, the higher the index the greater the risk of mortality through cardiovascular disease, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. In the 30 to 35 kg·m-2 range, life expectancy is reduced by an average of three years, so anyone in this category should seek multidisciplinary medical treatment as soon as possible."
The stakes are high but the advice for improving your health is very simple: adjust your food intake to your caloric requirements, which vary according to age, sex and physical activity. Do a bit of walking every day and take the stairs instead of the lift!
