'Race to Goal' for a Healthy Life-style

Stretch and bend ... Participants at the Exercise for Fitness Booth.

It was a fairly good turn-out for an early Sunday morning event when most people would prefer to remain in bed! Nevertheless, more than 350 health enthusiasts thronged Taman Tasik Lembah Kiara in Taman Tun Dr Ismail for the Race to Goal event, jointly organised by MSD and Persatuan Diabetes Malaysia.

Held to mark World Diabetes Day on Nov 14, 2010, the Race to Goal is a public educational event aimed at inculcating a strong message – that living well with diabetes is possible with the right mental attitude and a healthy lifestyle approach.

Pic: Dr Hew Fen Lee, Consultant Physician and Endocrinologist delivering a talk on Living Well with Diabetes.

Back for the second consecutive year, the Race to Goal 2010 lived up to its expectations of raising awareness on diabetes and the management of the disease through fun-filled educational activities. Aimed at encouraging Malaysians to live well with the disease, all the activities organised during this half-day event revolved around the three key pillars of good diabetes management, namely appropriate health measures and regular checks, healthy diet and regular exercise.

According to Mr Sunny Lim, Business Unit Leader of MSD, Race to Goal is the fourth annual educational event organised by MSD as part of its ongoing diabetes awareness campaign themed Living Well with Diabetes to instil the notion that diabetes management is instrumental in leading a fulfilling and healthy life.

Currently, an estimated 1.4 million Malaysians or 1 in 6 adults above 30 years old have diabetes. More alarming is that diabetes prevalence in Malaysia has almost doubled in the last decade, at a rate faster than the International Diabetes Federation’s prediction, in parallel with doubling of overweight / obesity in the population1.

“The increasing prevalence of diabetes in Malaysia is undoubtedly a compelling reason for Malaysians to adopt a healthy lifestyle. For diabetics, we want to remind them that a disciplined approach in diabetes management can go a long way in preventing future complications and enable them to enjoy a good quality of life,” said Lim.

“We hope that this year’s holistic yet fun-filled educational event will encourage Malaysians, people with diabetes or otherwise, to strive towards achieving their goals, be it their target glucose level or simply living a healthy life,” he added.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that in 2030, a total of 2.48 million in Malaysia will have diabetes. Globally, there is a rising trend in the prevalence of diabetes due to many factors such as population growth, aging, urbanisation and increasing prevalence of obesity and physical inactivity. In fact, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) predicts that by year 2025, the South East Asia Region would have the highest prevalence of diabetes2.

Dato' Hajah Rahimah of Persatuan Diabetes Malaysia (left) and Mr Sunny Lim of MSD (right) launching the Race to Goal 2010 event.

“Numerous statistics have shown that diabetes is steadily increasing in our region and globally. Given the drastic change of our modern lifestyle, Malaysians need to understand that diabetes is a major health problem and we need to take control now before it is too late. We need to regularly remind the public that healthy lifestyle changes are crucial in the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes, which is the most common type of diabetes and affects around 90 per cent of diabetic patients worldwide,” said Dato' Hajah Rahimah Bt Dato’ Haji Ahmad, Secretary General of Persatuan Diabetes Malaysia (PDM).

Pic: A fitness instructor demonstrates various exercises that promote a healthy body.

This year’s Race to Goal was supported by various sponsors including BOH Plantations, Breadtalk, Chef Amy Beh, iHeal Medical Centre, Jacob’s biscuits, mYoga, Naturel cooking oil, Nestle Cheerios by Nestle Breakfast Cereal, ‘Nutren untuk Diabetik’ by Nestle Nutrition, SoyRich by Yeo’s and VISTA Eye Specialist. Armed with a ‘passport’, participants visited three educational booths set-up around the park: the ‘Diabetes-Know-It-All booth, ‘Eat Right’ booth and the ‘Exercise for Fitness’ booth. Health checks, healthy cooking and exercise demonstrations were also part of the day’s exciting programme.

Celebrity Chef Amy Beh demonstrating the preparation of a healthy dish.

Many took part and enjoyed the exciting games such as the Wheel of Health, 3D Jigsaw Puzzle, Create a Plate, Guess the Calories and Get Fit at Home, while participants on that day were recruited to compete in a custom-made Snake & Ladder game.

Sounds of cheer and laughter reverberated through the air as the participants skilfully made their way up through the ladder and dodged the snakes in the all-time favourite Snake and Ladder game. Although Race to Goal was not about winning a challenge or a race, it nevertheless made every participant a winner in their own way as they gleefully lugged back a goody bag upon completion of their passports.

A tailor made Snake & Ladder game designed to educate the public on diabetes in a fun way.