What is your lifestyle?
When was the last time you exercised properly?
Do you watch what you eat? Do you take vitamins and food supplements? Do you smoke or drink? Or are you just so tired from work and your daily schedule that you just want to rest in front of the TV and enjoy a precooked meal?
A century ago, infectious diseases caused by invading microorganisms were the no. 1 cause of death. Today, a recent study showed that the most common cause of death is chronic diseases, caused by a variety of lifestyle and other factors.
The scary part is that we might not even be aware that your daily routines may be putting you at risk. Watching TV may help you relax, but spending too much time in front of the screen may become habitual and lead to a sedentary lifestyle. You might not smoke or drink, but too much sugar and soft drink can also cause problems in the future.
The research was done by Watsons Insights on Shoppers Experience (WISE), a division of the world’s largest international health and beauty retailer A.S. Watson Group.
The study showed that while 66 percent of Filipinos believe they have good knowledge on health, more than half or 57 percent do not exercise regularly to stay healthy. This shows that while majority of Filipinos are interested on health, there are a lot of factors that get in their way from staying healthy. Either they get too busy or too tired from work, have a lot of family obligations or spend more time being stuck in traffic.
To help Filipinos jumpstart their way to a healthier lifestyle, Watsons launched its #GetActive campaign. It aims to inspire Filipinos to be healthy through small, everyday active changes in their routine that will help improve their health.
“Watsons #GetActive campaign is one of our continuous efforts and part of our commitment to improve the lives and health of Filipinos by inspiring them to take small steps to improve their health,” says Watsons Marketing director Viki Encarnacion. “Small steps such as drinking more water, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, taking deep breaths in between work e-mails, walking from one building to another instead of riding a car or taxi if it’s just in the same area, walking your dog during weekends, and smiling more often can go a long way for our health. The list of small steps which we can do is endless, our days are full of opportunities to do these and Watsons can be their partner to improve their health” adds Encarnacion.
“We want our customers to know that being healthy doesn’t necessarily mean doing major changes and adjustments in our lives like starting to train as a tri-athlete, spend two hours in the gym three to five times a week, own a fancy health equipment at home, spend thousands of pesos on healthy meals or cook difficult or time-consuming healthy recipes, adds Krista Tan, Watsons Marketing manager.
At the media launch held at SquareOne at the Bonifacio Global City, Watsons invited celebrity chef Barni Alejandro-Rennebeck, who gave several cooking tips and taught guests a couple of easy and, more importantly, healthy recipes which they can quickly prepare.
First, the co-owner of the Sexy Chef prepared Greek salad with chickpeas, violet cabbage, cucumber, romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, black olives; and feta cheese. The mix of ingredients has vitamin C; contains cancer-fighting lycopenes; and can even help lower cholesterol. Another recipe Rennebeck taught guests was how to make a healthier dessert with banana with rolled oats, strawberries and chocolate. The rolled oats, contains omega-3 fatty acids that prevent the storage of belly fat, bananas are rich in Potassium and strawberries for vitamin C.
To serve as a “fitspiration,” Mr. World Philippines 2016, Sam Ajdani demonstrated a few exercise routines you can do almost anywhere. The Iranian-Filipino model and aspiring fitness trainer showed how to do the classic cardio workouts such as skipping rope, body weight exercises and weight resistance using water bottle and doing arm dips and sit-ups on a chair. Adjani, who is one of the endorsers of Cosmo Body, says taking the supplement before his workout has increased his energy and helped him shed off some fat.
“To get you started, you need to find a group of people who share your goals. When your friends are pushing themselves, this will also inspire and encourage you to do your best to pursue your goal. People think exercise is hard, but if you develop it as a habit, say do it for a few weeks, then months, over time, you see results, and this will get you even more motivated,” shares Ajdani.
Nutritionist and pediatric gastroenterologist, Dr. Mitzi Reodica, then took the stage to share a few more tips such as eating five to six kinds of fruits and vegetables and staying hydrated by drinking 2.5 liters of water daily (3.3 liters for men).
“The harsh truth is that we don’t get enough of the essential nutrients solely from the food that we eat, she said.
There are different types of vitamins available and formulated to fulfill different nutritional needs. Some of them are:
• Vitamin A for immunity, vision and healthy skin
• Vitamin B complex for energy production
• Vitamin C for immunity and protection against diseases
• Vitamin E for cell damage repair or prevention and for healthy skin.
The good news is you can easily get these from vitamins and supplements. At Watsons, there are different brands and products available to fulfill every individual’s nutritional needs depending on age, gender and preferred form—such as Enervon, Conzace, Ceelin, Revicon, Myra E, Centrum, Stresstabs, Berocca, Rogin E, Fern C, and Watsons Generics.
To further encourage its shoppers, Watsons is offering up to 20 percent off on select vitamins at select period of time in stores. And for its loyal members, Watsons is offering customers a chance to win trips to Bali, Guam or Sydney, or win an iPhone 7 or iPad for a minimum P500 single-receipt purchase of select vitamins and health products. Promo runs until June 28, 2017 and is exclusive to SM Advantage, SM Prestige, PRiMO and BDO Rewards Card holders. Promo is in partnership with Hutchgo.com and Philippine Airlines.
Visit any Watsons store nationwide. Visit www.watsonshealth.com.ph or www.facebook.com/WatsonsPH.