In a recent study published in Preventive Medicine Reports*, Dr Shian-Ling Keng, Associate Professor from the Department of Psychology at Monash University Malaysia, along with a team of 107 researchers from over 40 countries globally, are charting COVID-19’s deadly sweep across the world by delving into the virus’ often overlooked impact on people’s health behaviours. This study is conducted with Dr Michael Stanton, Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health at California State University, East Bay as a co-leading investigator. Other key collaborators of the study include Dr LeeAnn Haskins (University of Georgia, USA), Dr Jeannette Ickovics (Yale University, USA), Dr Antwan Jones (the George Washington University, USA), Dr Diana Grigsby-Toussaint (Brown University, USA), and Dr Carlos Almenara (Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, Peru).
Anxiety associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and home confinement measures have been found to be associated with adverse health behaviours, such as unhealthy eating, smoking, drinking, and decreased physical activity. These unhealthy behaviours are risk factors for non-communicable diseases, including obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases, which in turn increase the risk of contracting COVID-19 and greater disease severity and may eventually lead to increased mortality. However, to date, most studies have been limited by regional sampling, which precludes the examination of behavioural consequences associated with the pandemic at a global level.
Using data from the global PsyCorona project, an international, longitudinal online study of psychological and behavioural correlates of COVID-19, Dr Keng and over 100 behavioural scientists surveyed 7,402 adult participants from 86 countries across three waves of assessment and measured their perceived infection risk, economic burden, and engagement in health behaviours ranging from physical exercise, unhealthy eating, smoking, to alcohol consumption. By employing a multilevel regression approach in its data analysis, the team tested whether COVID-19 infection risk and economic burden correlate with a decline in healthy behavioural habits. The study found that perceived economic burden was linked with reduced diet quality and sleep quality, as well as increased smoking. There was also an interaction between perceived COVID-19 infection risk and economic burden, such that diet quality and sleep quality were lowest among those reported high levels of COVID-19 infection risk and economic burden. Neither binge drinking nor physical exercise were associated with perceived COVID-19 infection risk, economic burden, or their interaction.
“The pandemic is teaching us key lessons about the relationship between different types of stressors and health outcomes across different socioeconomic groups. In particular, it highlights the importance of attending to cumulative, negative effects of high infection risk and economic burden on health outcomes”, said Dr Keng. This project began when Dr Keng was a faculty member with the Division of Psychology at Yale-NUS College, Singapore.
Since March 2020, the PsyCorona scientists have conducted ongoing 20-minute interviews with more than 60,000 people in 115 countries. The survey topics range from handwashing and mask-wearing to dissatisfaction with government messaging. The project is jointly funded by the New York University Abu Dhabi, the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, and the Instituto de Salud Carlos III in Madrid, with Dr Pontus Leander (Wayne State University, USA) and Dr Jocelyn Bélanger (NYU Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates) as principal investigators.
“We are asking: If you perceive that you will get infected, and if you think that in the next few months your personal situation will be worse due to the economic consequences of COVID, will you sleep less, and will you eat more and eat unhealthy food?” Dr Stanton explained.
Preliminary findings from the study point to the value of developing interventions to address COVID-related stressors, which have an impact on health behaviours that, in turn, may influence vulnerability to COVID-19 and other health outcomes. Dr Keng noted that the relationships between COVID-19 stressors and health behaviours appear to be consistent across geographical regions — from impoverished nations to more developed European countries and the United States, and the relationships remained after controlling for variations in gender, age and levels of education. As a next step, the team aims to examine psychological mechanisms that may account for the relationships, including negative emotions and use of coping strategies such as problem solving and avoidance.
Dr Jones, Associate Professor from the Department of Sociology at The George Washington University, expressed that pandemics are notorious for inciting short- and long-term economic challenges. “However, there has been less attention on…how socially and economically vulnerable populations will be affected by the changing spatial landscape brought on by the consequences of the pandemic,” he stated.
Another co-author, Dr Grigsby-Toussaint, Associate Professor of Behavioural and Social Sciences and Epidemiology at the Brown University School of Public Health, indicated that supporting and engaging in international collaborative efforts are critical for mitigating the impact of COVID-19. “Although effective interventions targeting COVID-19 have to be tailored to the local context, it is important to have a broader view of stressors and health behaviours that are continuing to drive the pandemic.”
*Articles published on Preventive Medicine Reports are peer-reviewed and made freely available for everyone to read, download, and reuse in line with the user license displayed on the article.
AFT Ed.’s notes:
The World Health Organization (WHO) states that the official names announced for the virus responsible for COVID-19 (previously known as “2019 novel coronavirus”) and the disease it causes are as follows. The official name for the Disease is coronavirus disease (COVID-19), whereas the Virus is severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
The PsyCorona Study aims to identify psychological and cultural factors that affect the spread of SARS-CoV-2. The fast-spreading coronavirus prompted many countries to go into lockdowns and to take various other mitigation measures, some of which may be required for years. Due to its Data Science component, the PsyCorona project is able to examine how individual-level psychological factors interact with different containment measures to predict differences in virus spread between countries and regions. Visit https://psycorona.org/ to learn more.
Other interesting links from The PsyCorona Study include:
Interview with Nick Sellers, CEO of The World Games Birmingham Organising Committee
Witness History!
The countdown is on with under 100 days and counting until the opening ceremony of The World Games 2022 on 7 July at the Protective Stadium. Nick Sellers, CEO of the Birmingham Organising Committee (BOC), says: the energy is growing day by day. We are ready!
TWG2022 Plate to support The World Games 2022’s commitment to education, diversity, and sustainability – image copyright The World Games (https://flic.kr/p/2mZqSnA)
TWG: How does Birmingham honour the 100 Days to Go day?
Nick Sellers: We will honour the “100 Days To Go” by announcing the “Team RWB Old Glory Relay to The World Games 2022 presented by Airbus”. This epic journey will begin on 25 May in Washington, DC with thousands of America’s military veterans carrying the American Flag and The World Games flag from our nation’s capitol, across the heartland of America, and ultimately into Birmingham, USA. And on 7 July, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin and TWG2022 Honorary Co Chair Noah Galloway, who is himself a veteran and a sports enthusiast, will carry those same flags into Opening Ceremonies for the national anthem. This moment will signify a reconnection of global sports fans as The World Games 2022 will be the first major international multi sport event with full venues following the global pandemic.
TWG: What’s more important to you – the anticipation of the opening ceremony or the nervousness that everything will run smoothly?
Nick Sellers: All of this is important to me. I have great confidence in my team, working hard for the Birmingham Organizing Committee and our plan of execution throughout The Games. And I’m excited for the world to see the beautiful Opening Ceremony show with so many well known artists performing. I’m equally excited for fans to “Witness History” as over 3,600 athletes compete and showcase incredible athletic feats. I am convinced that we will remember this moment a long time. But there’s always a little anxiety for the actual show to begin. This gives us the extra adrenaline to ensure that we’ve taken care of the details.
TWG: What are the most important tasks on the home stretch to the Games?
Nick Sellers: We are moving more from planning to execution. And the most important tasks revolve around the different schedules. We call them “GamesTime” plans. The priorities of these plans include ensuring that the volunteers are trained and ready, each venue and our city has a world class “look and decor”, as well as ensuring that the athletes, fans, and sponsors have a safe, fun and memorable experience. There are so many details that go on behind the scenes to make this happen. Our BOC along with our partners in government and the private sector are all working harmoniously with our partners at the IWGA. And I’m pleased with our progress toward the preparation and execution of these plans.
TWG: What are the most important milestones that have already been achieved?
Nick Sellers: We’ve achieved so many milestones at this stage including securing over 100 sponsors, enlisted over 2,500 volunteers, secured many key partnerships, and finalized our marketing and promotional materials. Now, we turn to finalizing all of the accreditation of teams, athletes, dignitaries, officials, media, and so on, as well as a “GamesTime” simulation in May. During this exercise, we will treat eleven days as if each day were a day during TWG 2022 to establish better and more efficient communication and execution plans. This plan will include working on each day with partners from broadcast production to transportation and security.
TWG: What does a CEO’s working day look like at this stage?
Nick Sellers: I try to ensure my weekly team meeting with staff leadership and partners. But I also try to protect my schedule to have the flexibility to communicate with my entire team, public and private partners, and our IWGA partners as needed. Every day matters at this point for successful execution of our plans. And my time is spent mostly ensuring that our team has the necessary resources and support needed to deliver these plans. Not to forget: I am promoting the historic nature of The World Games 2022.
Official mascots of The World Games 2022 Birmingham, embody the spirit of the city’s history of iron and steel in Vulcan and Goddess of the Hearth and Home in Vesta – image copyright The World Games (https://flic.kr/p/2mZuEqR)
TWG: The BOC is now launching an advertising campaign: what are the most important messages? And what does the campaign look like?
Nick Sellers: The final advertising campaign is a “call to action” for everyone to get their ticket to TWG 2022 while they can. Some competitions are already close to selling out. And we believe that this final advertising campaign will really build even more excitement for ticket sales. The theme is “Step Up!”. Because just as these incredible athletes will have their chance to “Step Up” on that medal podium for their moment of glory, it’s also Birmingham’s and all of America’s chance to “Step Up” and buy a ticket to share in this moment and watch something historic. This will be a moment that fans and families will talk about for the rest of their lives. It’s very special. And I believe it will build excitement for these sports that are competing in TWG 2022. We call these sports the “new generation of global sports” in America.
TWG: What is the mood in Birmingham with regard to the event?
Nick Sellers: The energy is growing day by day and it’s very exciting. Just over the past few weeks, it feels like more and more citizens are realizing that the Games are almost here. The World Games 2022 is on the local and statewide news almost every day now. And it is bringing our community and state together in a very special way. We want to show the world our true “southern hospitality” and how Birmingham and the entire State of Alabama is becoming an international destination worthy of such a grand event as The World Games. We believe this will propel us onto the global stage in a big way. And we are ready.
TWG: Do friends and acquaintances talk to you about The World Games and what do they want to know?
Nick Sellers: The World Games 2022 is a constant topic of conversation in my life right now. From family and friends to business colleagues, they all want to know more about how things are going and what they can do to help. It has been a humbling experience to be a part of this special moment. I’m just grateful to have had this chance to work with an incredible team. And I’m especially grateful to have developed a true friendship with IWGA Honorary Life President Ron Froehlich who is a longtime resident of Birmingham. He’s become a mentor to me and he has helped me get through some very challenging and difficult times in this role. I’ve leaned on his experience. There’s many people that I keep in the front of my mind during this time. But he’s among the top. I want to make him proud. He’s worked so hard for many years for the IWGA and The Olympic Movement and he deserves to see his hometown deliver the best Games yet.
Is the war in Ukraine in connection with The World Games a topic in Birmingham?
Nick Sellers: Yes it is. Many of our sponsors and fans have asked what we can do collectively to show our support and solidarity with the Ukrainian athletes and citizens. And during our recent meetings in Birmingham, IWGA President Perurena made a great recommendation that the BOC join with our partners at the IWGA to support the Ukrainian athletes with a share of ticket and merchandise revenue. We are finalising those plans and will announce them very soon.
The World Games is a multi-sport event staged every four years by the International World Games Association, organised with the support of the International Olympic Committee. The 11th edition of The World Games will be held in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, 7-17 July 2022. 3,600 athletes from 34 sports and over 100 countries will take part in The World Games.
Including workbook with exercise and step-by-step instructions.
What are core values?
Simply put, your personal core values are your fundamental beliefs. They reflect what you stand for, what’s important to you. Your core values guide your behavior and your decisions. The emphasis here is on YOU; we’re not talking about values in a sense of morality or social norms.
Why core values are important
As a career coach, personal values are one of the most important tools in my work with any client, and one of the first things I want to get clarity on. For me, those values form the base for all subsequent work, such as creating a personal mission statement, building a vision or setting career goals.
If our goals are not set in line with our values, we’ll have a much harder time mastering the challenges along the way. Similarly, if your job does not satisfy your personal values, you’re more likely to experience a lack of motivation and fulfillment in the long run. Knowing your values can therefore help you make the right career choice.
And there are other reasons why identifying your core values is beneficial, such as:
Making good decisions
Knowing your personal values is one of the best tools to make difficult decisions. If you’re crystal clear about what you want and what’s important to you, you can eliminate a lot of inner dialogue and arrive at decisions more efficiently and with more confidence. Or put the other way around, I believe the best decisions we make are the ones based on and aligned with our values.
Experiencing more fulfillment
People who live by their values tend to experience greater fulfillment and happiness. In other words, if we neglect our personal values, we suffer mentally and emotionally. I have experienced this in my own life too. Dr. Russ Harris, author of The Happiness Trap, claims that our values are even more important than our goals, because “we might not reach our goals, but we can always choose to live by our values”.
Becoming an effective leader
Getting clarity on your own values is also a critical step in becoming an effective and authentic leader. Studies have shown that leaders who are seen as inspiring tend to have consistent values that they display every day. It seems that people become effective leaders when they are rooted in who they are and what matters most to them.
Are you ready to discover your personal values? Scroll down to find an exercise that will help you discover yours.
Exercise – Discover Your Core Values
Download the workbook or follow the step-by-step instructions below
Approach things with an open mind. We’re often quick to presume we know the answers before we even start. As a result, we are missing the opportunity to embark on a creative self-discovery process. Adopt a beginner’s mind by letting go of any expectations about what will happen and instead develop a curiosity to understand yourself more deeply.
Core values are discovered, not selected. Your core values are an integral part of you and the point of the following exercise is to help you become consciously aware of them. Core values are not the same as aspirational values that express who you want to be, what you aspire to.
To do this exercise, all you need is a piece of paper, a pen and an undisturbed place. When you’re ready, start by following the instructions below.
Step 1 – List up
Things you enjoy
Make a list of things you enjoy – What are your interests and hobbies? What are you passionate about? How do you spend your free time? List up everything that comes to your mind.
Think about why you enjoy these things – This is a crucial element of the exercise. Two people can have the same interest, let’s say they like playing tennis, but their WHYs can be very different. One person might enjoy the competition and the challenge, for them it’s about winning and seeing who’s the better player. The other person might play tennis to get some exercise and keep in shape, for them it’s part of a healthy lifestyle. Take some time and carefully think about your motivations for the activities you listed.
Assign values – Go back to your list and try to determine what values lie behind each of the things you enjoy. In some cases the values already became evident when you thought about your motivations. In the example of the person that likes to play tennis in order to win, their values might be “Challenge” or “Recognition”.
Role models
Think about people that inspire you – These can be people you know personally or indirectly or even historical figures. List them all up. Again, the important part is to ask yourself why you respect or admire these people. What do they stand for, what values do they represent?
Same as before, list up the reasons and determine the underlying values.
Negative experiences
Think about negative experiences – Another way to discover your values is by remembering situations in which you were frustrated, upset or sad. What did you feel in those particular situations and why?
What values were being violated or suppressed? Write them down.
If you need help to come up with values, you can refer to a list of the most common values below (page 6 in your workbook). The list is by no means exhaustive so don’t restrict yourself to those values only.
By now, you might have a long list of personal values. Maybe there are 10, 20 or 50 values on your list. The next step is to group similar values under related themes.
For example, compassion, empathy and understanding are similar. Or independence, freedom and individuality are related. Group them together.
Step 3 – Find a common theme
Look at each group and select a word that best represents the whole group. It can be one of the values within the group or a new word.
For example, I might choose “self-reliance” as the word that best describes my values of independence, freedom and individuality.
Step 4 – Determine top values
After completing step 3, you may still have a considerable list of values. Now comes the time to determine which values are most important to you.
You want to end up at somewhere between 5 to 10 values. If you have too many, you won’t be able to remember them all and to use them effectively, for example when making difficult decisions. Picking just a few forces you to get to the root of who you really are and what you stand for.
Ask yourself: What values are essential to your life? What values represent your primary way of being?
Step 5 – Rank your values
In this last step, we want to rank your core values in order of importance. This is usually the most challenging part but also a crucial one; you may have core values that are in conflict with each other, for example, growth and stability. Or there might be situations where not all your values can be met. So it’s important to know which of your values are non-negotiable.
In order to do this, write down your core values in no particular order. Then look at the first two values and ask yourself, “If I could satisfy only one of these, which would I choose?” Go through the whole list and compare all values with each other until your list is in the right order.
Step 6 – Review and adjust
Congratulations! You’ve completed the exercise. It’s time to take a break and clear your mind. I recommend to “sleep over it” and come back to your list the next day.
With a fresh mind, review your core values list.
Do these values “feel right”? Do they resonate with you?
Do these values represent things you would support, even if your choice wasn’t popular?
Would you be comfortable and proud to tell your values to your friends and family?
Don’t hesitate to make changes to your list, nothing is written in stone.
Step 7 – Observe yourself
Over the coming days, be mindful of the choices you make and keep reviewing your list regularly.
Whenever you make a decision, consciously put a label on the values behind. Are the values on your list reflected in your daily life. If not, are there other values that you are living by as you go through your day? Keep working on your list (removing/replacing values, changing the order, finding a better word to describe a specific value, etc.) until you are satisfied with it.
Final notes
Knowing your core values is only one step on the path to an authentic life. Learning to apply them daily is a major component to happiness and success.
The key, especially in the beginning, is to keep your values top of mind. Put them where you can always see them, for example on post-it notes or on your screensaver or desktop.
As you go through your days, identify behaviors and actions that satisfy your core values. Try to bring more of those into your life – and get rid of the ones that are in conflict with your values. Whenever you set a goal or evaluate an opportunity, make sure you take your core values into account.
By actively and consciously living your values, you will experience – and enjoy – personal growth.
“Knowing your values does not mean you’ll always live in perfect accordance with them, but as a map, they will help guide you on your journey through life.”
– Amy Blacklock
This article has been contributed by Dominic Junghaenel of MindfulCareer.org. Dominic is a Career & Leadership Coach who is passionate about personal development and supporting people in overcoming challenges and reaching their goals. He is also a sports enthusiast and is currently challenging himself to go ice swimming in Switzerland.
If exercise now can be prescribed as medicine, wouldn’t foods also be prescriptive? I’d like to share this list of must-watch videos that has helped my team and I at Asia Fitness Today in our search for interventions for non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, lung disease, dementia and many many more. This (re)search has taken me seven years ever since I lost my father to blood cancer or leukemia unexpectedly in 2015, and witnessed too many friends and clients fall ill with lifestyle diseases. As a fitness coach, I was determined to find a solution for myself and for my clients who wanted to lose weight, build muscle and be healthy. All this while, I was convinced that illness was brought about by sedentary lifestyles, but I soon realised that it was more than that. It wasn’t about how much we moved. Food was also a major factor in our health outcomes. I hope you will enjoy watching these videos and that it can bring about change in your life or for someone you know.
1. Reversing Type 2 diabetes starts with ignoring the guidelines
AFT Ed: We write this article celebrating Dr. Sarah Hallberg’s life. A pioneer educator in metabolic disease, a Doctor of Osteopathy from Des Moines University as well as a Master’s and Bachelor’s of Science in Kinesiology and Exercise Science from Illinois State University, her twitter account profile reads, “Medical Director at Virta Health. Physician, all-patient advocate, researcher, mom and wife living with stage 4 cancer. Tweets are not ind medical advice.”
So, I have been a patient advocate for years. Some things I believe as a physician and as a human: 1. People are inherently worthy, 2. We need to stop blaming people for their disease (far too often still occurs with obesity and T2D) 3. Medicine does not have all the answers
Dr. Sarah Hallberg gave this life-changing talk at TedxPurdueU on 5 May 2015 and this video has been viewed 8.6 million times to date, helping trigger countless interventions with messages flooding the comments section from people who have benefited from her talk around the world including us at Asia Fitness Today. May Dr. Sarah rest in peace. We thank her for her work.
Video Summary: This video has taught millions of people how food affects our bodies and our health, and many have followed the nutrition advice she gave.
“Obesity is a disease, not something created by lack of character. It is a hormonal disease. There are many hormones involved, and one of the main ones is a hormone called insulin. The vast majority of obese individuals are resistant to insulin and that causes a lot of trouble. So, what does being insulin-resistant mean? Insulin resistance is essentially ‘pre-pre-type 2 diabetes.’ Insulin’s job is to drive glucose or blood sugar into cells where it can be used. In a nutshell, when someone has insulin resistance, they are having trouble getting glucose where it needs to go, into the cells. It can’t all hang out in the blood after we eat, or we would all have a diabetic crisis after every meal. When there is resistance to insulin, our bodies will just make more of it. The insulin levels rise and rise and for a while, years usually, this will keep up and blood sugar will stay normal. However, eventually it can’t keep up, and even elevate insulin levels are not enough to keep blood sugar normal, and blood sugar rises. And that is diabetes”.
― Dr. Sarah Hallberg
2. [UNCUT] Interview with Jasmine Low on Kurang Manis (Sugar,Less), runner-up of the Motion Picture Association Int’l Script-to-Screen Competition.
AFT Ed.: Asia Fitness Today cofounder, Jasmine Low goes on a quest to uncover what makes Malaysians tick, and why so many are on the verge of a lifestyle disease like herself (she’s diagnosed a pre-diabetic). Her mother is diagnosed with chronic kidney disease and her grandmother died from complications of kidney disease. Scientists she’s interviewed for The Kurang Manis (Sugar,Less) Podcast have given her hope that chronic diseases may be genetic but it’s more likely habit and with the right interventions, she can save herself from the same path of her mother and grandmother.
Video Summary: First time writer, producer and director Jasmine Low talks about how it feels to win the only runner-up prize awarded in the region for her documentary pitch at the “SCRIPT TO SCREEN” Film Competition organised by FINAS, Snapper Films and Motion Picture Association International in Feb 2019. “Kurang Manis (Sugar,Less)” is a 60-minute documentary that seeks to unravel the stories behind six ordinary Malaysians, their hopes, fears and dreams for New Malaysia a year after General Election #14, of which 82% turned up to vote and toppled. Also, what it feels like to be among one in two of the most obese population in Southeast Asia. Filming has been put on hold since 2020 and this has been converted into a podcast hosted by Jasmine Low and Nikki Yeo, cofounders of AsiaFitnessToday.com. Read the full interviews or listen to the The Kurang Manis (Sugar, Less) Podcast: https://www.asiafitnesstoday.com/kurang-manis or via Apple Podcast, Google Podcasts, Spotify and more.
3. I Quit Sugar: Your Complete 8-Week Detox Program and Cookbook
AFT Ed: At time stamp 14:00, Sarah Wilson tells about the time in 1955 when Eisenhower’s heart attack spurred the search for causes of heart disease. Biochemist Ancel Keys conducted a study and claimed that saturated fat was the major culprit of coronary attack. This sent the message that everyone should eat a low fat diet and it set forth the food pyramid. 70 years on, many in the industry are starting to question that study and his message. Sarah Wilson was formerly a journalist and opinion columnist, editor of Cosmopolitan Australia and host of Masterchef Australia before founding the largest wellness website in Australia. In February 2022, Sarah sold the business and gave all proceeds to charity. She now builds and enables charity projects that “engage humans with each other”. Learn more about Sarah here.
Video Summary: Sarah Wilson thought of herself as a relatively healthy eater. She didn’t realize how much sugar was hidden in her diet, or how much it was affecting her well-being. When she learned that her sugar consumption could be the source of a lifetime of mood swings, fluctuating weight, sleep problems, and thyroid disease, she knew she had to make a change. What started as an experiment to eliminate sugar–both the obvious and the hidden kinds–soon became a way of life, and now Sarah shows you how you can quit sugar too.
4. Intermittent Fasting: A Two-Month Experiment. Does It Work?
AFT Ed.: Channel News Asia’s Talking Point journalist Steve Chia looks into the intermittent fasting phenomena that’s been adopted by so many even across Asia Pacific. He tests this method out on himself! Talking Point investigates a current issue or event, offering different perspectives to local stories and revealing how it all affects you.
Video summary: After drinking sugar-laden bubble tea three times a week for a month for an earlier Talking Point episode, host Steve Chia is ready to lose the weight he gained and to improve his health. He goes on a two-month Intermittent Fast – eating his meals between 12pm and 8pm daily. As he tries to cope with skipping breakfast, he documents his fasting experience and finds out how fasting helps us to burn fat more effectively. He also discovers some of its potential pitfalls. Will Steve succeed in shedding the extra kilos he gained?
AFT Ed.: We enjoyed this documentary and found it very enlightening listening to the interviews with North Americans who have transformed their own lives by looking for answers and finding that it was their diet that needed changing. We meet with academic and Professor of Medicine from the University of Iowa, Dr. Terry Wahls who speaks about how she dealt with a diagnosis of a chronic progressive neurological disorder and secondary progressive multiple sclerosis. She says that she redesigned her diet with ‘functional medicine’ and within six months she started walking again.
“We’re clearly in a epidemic because the quality of our diets is definitely declining,”
Dr. Terry Wahls
“It’s hard to make dietary changes when you’ve been eating a poor diet your whole life. If nobody’s told you hey, this is actually putting you at an increased risk of disease. We’re not there to tell people that they’re doing something wrong or that it’s even their fault. We’re just providing the information and giving them with some guiding principles so that when they do make the changes, it can come from within,”.
Julie Briley ND, Food as Medicine Institute, National University of Natural Medicine
Video summary: Food As Medicine is a documentary film that follows the growing movement of using food to heal chronic illness and disease. Directed by Lenore E Eklund, Produced by Mark Eklund, Executive Producer: Nutritional Therapy Association.
AFT Ed: Two of the most popular foods in the Western diet are salmon and avocados. This documentary shows how salmon raised on fish-farms are treated with anti-biotics which can cause health problems. Avocado production on the other hand, uses a lot of water and raises a climate change eyebrow. Yet these are the two foods that have high demand because of its brand promise – that it’s healthy and sustainable foods. Are they?
Video summary: Salmon is usually found in the oceans of the northern hemisphere — but they also grow well in fish farms off the coast of Chile. In the 1980s, salmon was considered a luxury, but now, it’s become trendy. Avocados have also become more popular — especially with vegans, vegetarians, and hip young people in big cities. But the mass production of salmon and avocados is causing a lot of problems. Salmon produced on fish farms in Chile are given massive amounts of anti-biotics. Norway, by comparison, has all but eliminated the use of them. Environmental protection laws are tougher in Norway than they are in Chile. Salmon are predatory fish — but in Chile, they are fed largely on soybean meal. The soybeans are imported from Brazil, where they are grown on huge farms. A lot of forest in Brazil has been converted to agriculture. Also, the soy pellets that are fed to salmon in Chile have been treated with harmful substances that are banned in the EU and the US. Mexico is the world’s leading producer of avocados. José Gonzalez has been working in the avocado business for 35 years, and it’s made him a wealthy man. But it’s also changed his life dramatically, for the worse. Gonzalez has been threatened by criminals. His son was kidnapped — and now, when Gonzalez visits his plantations, he travels with armed bodyguards. Organized crime gangs are trying to take over the avocado business, particularly in the state of Michoacán. Cartels are fighting each other for access to this “green gold.” Violence is common, up to and including murder. Globalization and the boom in food production have now spread to Latin America, and it often has serious consequences. People and the environment are being exploited — simply to provide food for those who live in the northern hemisphere.
7. Vegucated (Trailer)
AFT Ed.: This 2011 vegan experiment between three friends is one for the plant-based fans and continues to be relevant a decade on. Writer and director Marisa Miller Wolfson, producer Demetrius Bagley who is known for cooking show Vegan Mashup and for organising vegan Meetups and theatre-maker and plant-based culinary artist, Laura Delhauer who was hired by Wolfson to help develop recipes for The Vegucated Family Table, a resource for parents and child care providers wanting to nourish children with more plant based foods. Vegucated was selected best documentary at its worldwide premiere at the Toronto Independent Film Festival and has done well at the film festivals circuit, it is also on Netflix. There is another pro-vegan flick on Netflix that made headlines pre-Covid, with the backing of Hollywood giants like James Cameron, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jackie Chan, Lewis Hamilton, Novak Djokovic and Chris Paul. The Game Changer promo states that it’s a revolutionary new film about meat, protein and strength and has in effect converted quite a few into its quest.
Video Summary: Vegucated is a feature-length documentary that follows three meat- and cheese-loving New Yorkers who agree to adopt a vegan diet for six weeks. There’s Brian, the bacon-loving bachelor who eats out all the time, Ellen, the single mom who prefers comedy to cooking, and Tesla, the college student who avoids vegetables and bans beans. They have no idea that so much more than steak is at stake and that the fate of the world may fall on their plates. Lured with true tales of weight lost and health regained, they begin to uncover hidden sides of animal agriculture and soon start to wonder whether solutions offered in films like Food, Inc. go far enough. Before long, they find themselves risking everything to expose an industry they supported just weeks before.
But can their conviction carry them when times get tough? What about on family vacations fraught with skeptical step-dads, carnivorous cousins, and breakfast buffets?
Part sociological experiment, part science class, and part adventure story, Vegucated showcases the rapid and at times comedic evolution of three people who share one journey and ultimately discover their own paths in creating a kinder, cleaner, greener world, one bite at a time.
8. CSIRO’s new diet that could help with diabetes remission
AFT Ed: We love A Current Affair‘s investigative style of video journalism. Coupled with research from the CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, it seems like this discovery episode is indeed good news for the 1.5 million Australians living with diabetes.
Video Summary: A look at the CSIRO’S new diet that could help with diabetes remission. A Current Affair covers the realms of politics, crime, human rights, science, technology, celebrities and entertainment – all investigated by a dedicated team. A Current Affairs airs weeknights 7.00pm on Channel 9 Australia.
9. Take Back Your Health – with Dr. Robert H. Lustig
AFT Ed.: This vodcast is a true gem as you have two of North America’s most motivational speakers and leaders in neurology speak about metabolic disease. Dr. David Perlmutter, the interviewer, is the author of Drop Acid, Brain Wash & his 2013 book Grain Brain which discusses how gluten causes neurological conditions and is an advocate of using functional and holistic treatment of brain disorders. He is also a medical advisor for The Dr. Oz Show and Men’s Health. Listen to these two men speak about insulin, protecting your liver, non-alcohol fatty liver disease, dementia and more. The vodcast reveals that “It turns out there are more thin and sick people than fat and sick people in America,” exclaims Dr. Robert Lustig. And interestingly, Dr. Lustig continues that “…sugar causes gout. It’s because it raises uric acid…”.
Video Summary: The Source of Our Most Challenging Epidemic. As you may recall, the last time we had the opportunity to interview Dr. Robert Lustig was when he published The Hacking of the American Mind, elucidating how the processed food industry has hacked our bodies and minds to pursue pleasure over happiness, fueling widespread addiction and depression. I’m excited to let everyone know that we again have the opportunity to feature Dr. Robert Lustig on the podcast talking about his new book METABOLICAL. This new work addresses nutrition, food science, and global health, and explains how by focusing on real food we can reverse chronic disease and promote longevity. For the first time, all strands of this pandemic—the medical, the economic, and the environmental—are pulled together into one clear narrative. And to be sure, the pandemic we are referring to is the pandemic of chronic, noninfectious, preventable diseases, not COVID-19. Describing the eight pathologies within the cell that belie all chronic disease, Dr. Lustig illustrates how they are not “druggable” but rather “foodable” (i.e. medication can’t cure what nutrition can) by following two basic principles: protect the liver, and feed the gut. He uses this science to chronicle the breakdown in our current healthcare paradigm, which has succumbed to influence from Big Food, Big Pharma, and Big Government. In the special chapter “Food in the Time of Corona,” Dr. Lustig addresses the way “pre-existing conditions” (i.e. diet-induced chronic diseases) make us vulnerable to succumbing to acute infectious diseases like COVID-19. He also argues that the Nutrition Facts label hides information from the consumer by omitting what’s been done to the food, which is more important than what’s in the food. Weaving together the interconnected strands of nutrition, disease, medicine, environment, and society, METABOLICAL provides the scientific bases for a series of iconoclastic revelations, among them: Medicine for chronic disease only treats symptoms, not the disease itself You can diagnose your own biochemical profile Processed food isn’t just toxic, it’s addictive The war between vegan and keto is a false war—the combatants are on the same side Big Food, Big Pharma, and Big Government are on the other side.
Our guest, Robert H. Lustig, M.D., MSL, is professor of pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology and a member of the Institute for Health Policy Studies at University of California, San Francisco. He has authored 120 peer-reviewed articles and 70 reviews. He has mentored 30 pediatric endocrine fellows and trained numerous other allied health professionals. He is the former chairman of the Obesity Task Force of the Pediatric Endocrine Society, a member of the Obesity Task Force of the Endocrine Society, and a member of the Pediatric Obesity Devices Committee of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. He is also the president of the nonprofit Institute for Responsible Nutrition, dedicated to reversing childhood obesity and Type 2 Diabetes. He consults for several childhood obesity advocacy groups and government agencies.
10. What You Know About the KETO DIET Is WRONG! This Is What NEW STUDIES Are Showing
AFT Ed.: Dr. Steve Grundy is a medical professional and author that has often voiced out on diet and health. He speaks in-depth about ketogenic diets in this podcast, and that ketones are not new and were already in discussion in the late 1800s. Interestingly in the 1930s, he says, the Mayo Clinic found a link between starvation, the production of ketones and how ketogenic diets were prescribed to children with severe epilepsy. He speaks about humans and a starvation state that hardly is a case anymore today. Both interviewer and guest talk about mitochondria, an organism within our cells that carry their own DNA and create energy for the cells to use. The interview unravels at timestamp 20:02 Dr. Gundry sharing that, “…Ketones are not a super fuel, they are actually a signaling molecule that tells mitochondria to protect themselves at all costs from damage, and to save themselves at all costs if you are starving to death,”. Spoiler alert here, is that in a starvation situation, ketones will signal mitochondria to release calories. That, was quite a mind blowing reveal for both Bilyeu and to us! Dr. Gundry has his fans as he does critics, as he is best known for his controversial book, Plant Paradox Diet which claims that lectins, carbohydrate-binding proteins found in numerous plant foods that ‘agglutinates cells’, causing inflammation resulting in many modern diseases.
Video Summary: The ketogenic diet is so popular that it was searched over 25 million times in one year. Some experts support its effectiveness to help people lose weight, while others claim that it’s the worst diet to try. Research and data have advanced and proven that everyone has it wrong. Dr. Steven Gundry is with Tom explaining why he and the rest of the medical community got ketosis all wrong. He shares why mitochondrial uncoupling is really the star and this is what you need to know to make your dieting experience easier and more effortless. No need to live completely devoid of carbohydrates on a keto diet any longer.
AFT Ed.
Pseudoscience or truth?
We’ll leave that up to you, and your research to consider all of the messages shared above. Nutritional diet is a sensitive topic and we’ve realised that in our own communication in family group chats. No one person is right, and it’s a very personal journey. One thing is for sure, we end this list of AFT must-watch videos on Foods as Medicine with a quote from Mark Twain. Until the next list, eat well and be well!
“Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.”
The University of Canberra’s National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM) has revealed the staggering future economic cost of Alzheimer’s disease, and its impact on Australia’s workforce, patients, families and communities.1
The report, The Economic and Societal Cost of Alzheimer’s Disease in Australia, 2021-2041,commissioned by Biogen Australia and New Zealand, builds on NATSEM and Dementia Australia’s Economic Cost of Dementia in Australia 2016-2056 Report released in 2017 and projects a 20-year $442 billion impact of Alzheimer’s disease to the Australian economy.1
Lead author Emeritus Professor Laurie Brown from NATSEM said the number of people aged 50 and over with diagnosed Alzheimer’s disease is expected to increase by 73% from 153,888 in 2021 to 266,114 by 2041. This increase will lead to an annual cost of $26.6 billion, including direct costs (aged care, hospital and out of hospital services) of $9.8 billion and indirect costs (informal care, lost productivity, and income support) of $16.8 billion by 2041.1
“The modelling paints a significant challenge to government, health and aged care systems into the future,” said Professor Brown. “The numbers also provide insight into the ripple effect on families and the community as they struggle to care for people living with the disease.”
Under current care, the number of people in Residential Aged Care Facilities with dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease is expected to increase by more than 72 per cent over the next 20 years, with the numbers increasing from 42,478 persons in 2021 to 73,172 in 2041.1
“This is a huge challenge for an aged care system already under pressure. It will see financial impacts of formal residential and community aged care rising by almost $3.6 billion annually and requiring a paid workforce of 18,652 in 2041 to support those living with Alzheimer’s disease in the community alone, up from 10,752 in 2021,” said Professor Brown.
Associate Professor Michael Woodward AM, geriatrician and Head of Aged Care Research, Austin Health said importantly the report also provides an opportunity to quantify the societal costs outside the health system.
“The impact I see on carers and the community each day is often the most challenging to quantify. However, with an expected additional 80,000+ people with Alzheimer’s disease in the community by 2041 compared with today we can’t afford not to consider this impact in any future approach,” Associate Professor Woodward said.
The report also investigated the potential impact of a disease modifying therapy on the numbers.1 Disease-modifying therapies target the pathogenic pathway of Alzheimer’s disease to delay the onset or progression of dementia.2 The modelling indicates there is an opportunity to reduce the burden on aged care over the 20 years by $7.9 billion, the cost of residential care by $7.0 billion and formal care in the community by $880 million. With fewer people having moderate or severe AD dementia, the cost of informal care is also reduced by $4.3 billion – giving a total savings of $12.2 billion.1
“While the modelling suggests that the introduction of a disease modifying therapy has the potential to lessen the future impact of Alzheimer’s disease, it is only part of the solution,” said Associate Professor Woodward.
“The findings in this report attest to the importance of developing and implementing a system and society-wide approach, in alignment with the anticipated national dementia strategy to ensure we can provide the best possible clinical outcomes and quality of life in the future. We do not have time to delay,” Associate Professor Woodward continued.
This data reinforces the findings from the recent White Paper on the Future of Alzheimer’s disease in Australia that revealed the need for urgent collaboration and action in the healthcare system to manage the growing impact of the disease.
Article and image provided by SenateSHJ on behalf of the University of Canberraand Biogen Australia and New Zealand.
1. Brown LJ., Li J. and La HA (2022). The Economic and Societal Cost of Alzheimer’s Disease in Australia, 2021-2041. NATSEM, University of Canberra, Canberra.
2. Cummings, J & Fox, N (2017). Defining Disease Modifying Therapy For Alzheimer’s Disease. J Prev AlzDis. 4(2):109-115.
Former Australian cricketer Shelley Nitschke and two-time Olympic water polo representative Bec Rippon are among 32 women from 20 sports selected for the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) Talent Program, which is designed to address the under-representation of women in coaching and executive roles in high performance sport.
In a press release issued on 17 March 2022, Australia’s Minister for Sport Richard Colbeck announced the 16 coaches and 16 executives who have been selected for the intensive Women Leaders in Sport (WLIS) professional development programs funded by the Australian Government’s Office for Women and Sport Australia.
We are so proud to announce the 2022 participants for the #AISTalent Program!
32 incredible women representing 20 sports will take part in the #WLIS program for women coaches and executives in high performance sport.
— Australian Institute of Sport (@theAIS) March 17, 2022
The AIS Talent program has been designed to be a catalyst for identified women leaders to further progress their career potential in sport, this year with an emphasis on coaching and executive positions.
“We want the participants in this program to grow their leadership presence as individuals, but also to be influential in shifting mind-sets and behaviours in sport and broader community,” Minister Colbeck said.
“The Australian Government has been strong and consistent in our approach to increasing opportunities for women and girls at all levels of sport, from participation in community sport through to the leaders running our organisations.
“We’ve made no secret of our aspiration to have a greater proportion of women in leadership roles in Australian sport and it’s encouraging to see the wide range of sports and organisations engaging with this AIS Talent program.
“The next decade in particular, leading up to the 2032 Brisbane Games, will be one of the most exciting chapters in Australian sporting history. It’s crucial that we have the right talent, diversity and balance within the leadership ranks of our sporting system, whether it be in the boardroom or in the sporting arena.”
This is the second time the AIS Talent Program has had a high performance coach focus, with alumni including two-time Olympic gold medallist Katrina Powell, the first woman coach of the Hockeyroos in 43 years. Like Katrina, former Australian allrounder Shelley Nitschke has also successfully transitioned from athlete to coach and is currently at the Women’s World Cup in New Zealand as the Assistant Coach of the Australian Cricket Team.
“I’m honoured to have been accepted into the AIS Talent Program alongside some amazing women from across the sporting sector and I’m looking forward to connecting with them and getting stuck into the program,” Nitschke said.
“The program presents a wonderful opportunity for me to further myself both personally and professionally and I’m hoping it will help taking my coaching to a new level.”
Running in conjunction to the AIS Women High Performance Coach Talent Program will be a program focused on supporting and elevating women in executive positions in sport.
Debbie Savage, the National High Performance Manager at Skate Australia, said: ” I’m thrilled to be selected for the AIS Executive Talent Program. It’s an exciting opportunity to be afforded time to develop my own professional capabilities as an executive leader in Skateboarding, whilst strengthening my network with other amazing women in the high performance sport system who are sharing a similar journey.”
AIS Director Matti Clements said: “The calibre of participants selected for this year’s AIS Talent Program is proof of the incredible skill and experience that already exists in Australian high performance sport.
“But there is no hiding from the fact that women are still under-represented in both coaching and executive ranks. I would like to thank the Australian Government and Office for Women for giving the AIS resources to help change this and look forward to seeing the AIS Talent participants help drive greater diversity in Australian sport.”
For more information about the AIS Talent Program, visit the AIS website here.
2022 AIS Female Sport Executive Talent Program:
Megan Carr, Female Engagement Manager VIC, Golf Australia
Christine Harman, General Counsel and Company Secretary, Cricket Australia
Rana Hussain, Inclusion and Diversity Manager, Cricket Australia
Dee Jennings, Performance and Planning Manager, Hockey Australia
Cassie Lindsey, Inclusion and Diversity Manager, Geelong Football Club
Jane Louise Woodlands-Thompson, Director/ Consultant, Activebods
Sarah Luttrell, Senior Legal Counsel, Tennis Australia
Jane McGough, General Manager – Consumer, Community and Marketing, Gold Coast SUNS Football Club
Tracey Menzies-Stegbauer, Athlete Wellbeing and Engagement Manager, Gymnastics Australia
Carolyn Morrison, Performance Services Program Manager, Western Australian Institute of Sport
Jenni Thom, HR and Finance Manager, Shooting Australia
Jodie Newton, Acting Chief Executive Officer, South Australian Cricket Association
Melanie Purkiss, Athlete Wellbeing and Engagement Manager, Athletics Australia
Rachel Ratini, General Manager – Sport Operations, Equestrian Australia
Debbie Savage, National High Performance Manager, Skate Australia
Rebekah Webster, General Manager- Vixens, Performance & Pathways, Netball Victoria & the Melbourne Vixens
2022 AIS Female High Performance Coach Talent Program:
Ash Ankudinoff, Coach, SASI
Alison Bombardier, Manager and Assistant Coach Para Alpine Ski Team, Snow Australia
Belinda Cox Gymnastics, Manager – Pathways and Performance, NSW Trampoline
Taís de Morais Rochel, Fencing Coach/ Personal Trainer, Australian Fencing Federation
Rebecca Dicello, Head Endurance Cycling Coach, NSWIS
Lucy Glanville, 2022 Youth/Junior World Championships Head Coach, Australian Biathlon Association
Belinda Goss, Cycling Coach, TIS
Harriet May Jones, Head Diving Coach, VIS
Shelley Nitschke, Assistant Coach – Australian Women’s Team, Cricket Australia
Kerry O’Sullivan, AFLW Development Coach, West Coast Eagles Football Club
Catherine Paice, Strength and Conditioning Coach, Football Queensland/QAS
Rebecca Rippon, Women’s Water Polo Head Coach, NSWIS
Jaime Swavley, Sailing Coach, Australian Sailing
Michelle Tickner, Head Coach and Founder, Team 360 Performance
Christine Voge, Assistant Coach, Sunshine Coast Lightning Netball Club
Taryn Woods, Associate, Communication and Stakeholder Engagement, Water Polo Australia
2022 TaiSPO DigitalGo has already attracted nearly 400 buyers from 40 countries to make meeting appointments
7 March 2022, Taipei AFTNN PRNews/GIG – Taipei International Sporting Goods Show (TaiSPO), organised by TAITRA, will be held in Hall 1 of Nangang Exhibition Center from March 10 to 12. It will be TaiSPO’s first physical exhibition since the pandemic outbreak. Due to border control, in order to assist overseas buyers in visiting TaiSPO, the upgraded version of the online exhibition “TaiSPO DigitalGo” has been fully launched. A variety of user experiences have been optimised with new functions such as Networking VR Lounge, which exhibitors, buyers and media could communicate by text messages and exchanging name cards. TAITRA said that through the 24/7, one-month online show, TaiSPO DigitalGo helps exhibitors to grasp business opportunities and strengthens the efficiency of buyers from visiting.
In order to provide exhibitors and buyers with a more personalised, customised and community-based experience, this year’s TaiSPO DigitalGo has also launched a new function, AI Matching Recommendation. The system will recommend suitable online exhibitors every day to improve the efficiency and precision of matchmaking. At the same time, buyers can also use the Exhibitor Guided Tour to book meetings with exhibitors and have a tour of their online booths.
TAITRA said that the epidemic had accelerated digitisation and the unsolved international epidemic. Many exhibitors are still highly interested in online exhibitions, such as Dyaco, Johnson and DK City. In addition, in order to strengthen the outcome of matchmaking, the TTSMatch matchmaking platform was launched in conjunction with TaiSPO DigitalGo. Up to now, nearly 400 buyers from 40 countries have registered to participate in the online procurement meeting, which will be able to create a better outcome of matchmaking than last year.
TAITRA emphasised that the physical TaiSPO will be held simultaneously in March 2022.
Businesses are welcome to pre-register to enter the venue; the exhibition is also open to the general public.
Restoring the gift of hearing with advanced technology using robot-assisted surgery
Every year, World Hearing Day falls on 3 March. Imagine a world that is silent – no birds chirping, no music and no words to be heard. That’s how seven year-old Suri (not her real name) has experienced the world for the past three years. However, in January this year, her silent world took a delightful turn for the better when Sunway Medical Centre, Sunway City granted Suri the gift of hearing with a Cochlear implant using a 3D Exoscope. This robot-assisted technology with 3D cameras is commonly used in neurosurgery and Dr Shailendra Sivalingam, Consultant Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeon decided to harness the machine’s advantages in providing better visibility and ergonomics during Cochlear implant surgery.
“Cochlear implant surgery is traditionally done with a 2D operating microscope and now, it can be performed using a 3D Exoscope, making us the first private hospital in Malaysia to do so. The surgery on Suri went smoothly without any difficulty and using the Exoscope, precise, complicated surgical manoeuvres were performed flawlessly,”
Dr. Shailendra Sivalingam, Consultant ENT Surgeon
The Wonders of Sounds for a Child
Suri was four years old when her mother, Samantha, noticed she did not respond when being called. She was diagnosed with severe hearing loss in both ears and was fitted with hearing aids. Her speech was also found to be two years behind her age, which required her to undergo speech therapy. A specific cause of her hearing loss could not be identified, and she did not have any family history of hearing loss.
“She would go about her day lip reading and reading facial gestures – until the pandemic hit. It was really challenging when classes started being conducted online. She could hardly hear a word her teacher was saying over the computer, and face masks meant she couldn’t lip read,” Samantha said.
As the years passed, Suri’s hearing continued to deteriorate until a point that her hearing aids were no longer helping her.
“We were introduced to Dr Shailendra at Sunway Medical Centre, who told us about a Cochlear implant. I feared Suri would not be able to function normally in society if her condition continued to decline. So, I decided that she should have this implant. I trust her speech will improve with better hearing,” Samantha expressed.
Cochlear implants are different from hearing aids in that hearing aids only amplify audible sound, while a Cochlear implant delivers signals directly to the hearing organ (cochlea).
The implant has an internal and external component. The external component picks up sound with a microphone and transmits it to the internal part. The internal part is placed under the skin behind the ear where a fine electrode enters the cochlea. The electrode stimulates the auditory nerve which sends signals to the brain, producing hearing.
The Moment of Truth
It would be another two weeks after surgery before the Cochlear implant was activated. Those two weeks were pretty rough on Suri who couldn’t hear at all, making communication hard between her and her family. Samantha said her daughter was silent the first five days and slowly came out of her shell when she started communicating through text.
Dr Shailendra explains that a Cochlear patient’s initial hearing will not sound like normal hearing when the implant is switched on as the device needs to be tuned and adjusted to fit the individual. The implant mapping process may take up to 6 months after surgery, and this varies between patients depending on their individual responses.
“Suri was quite nervous on the day and when it was switched on, she was a little overwhelmed with the new sounds that she was hesitant to wear the external component. She tried it again after some persuasion on the lowest volume to let her gradually warm up to the new sounds she is experiencing.
“Until the day of surgery, I was still second-guessing my decision. Did I make the right choice to put Suri through such a major surgery? But looking at her now (about a month after surgery), she has made good progress since the implant was switched on. She is discovering new sounds every day and has become more cheerful and alert of her surroundings,” Samantha said.
Hearing again means a brighter future awaits
“I’m happy for Suri and her family because I understand the difficulties they have gone through. This is a big step towards regaining her hearing and it is extremely rewarding to be able to restore a person’s hearing as it is one of our cardinal senses. It satisfies me the most to see a Cochlear implant patient being able to live a normal life among their peers,” Dr Shailendra expressed.
“With Suri, her hearing loss has affected her speech which has impacted her education and learning. Now, we are hopeful that she will be able to communicate better when she goes back to school. Our journey has a long way to go, but this does mean a brighter future for Suri,” Samantha said.
The use of robot-assisted technology is the way forward and becoming a norm in many surgical fields. The 3D Exoscope is among many advanced robotic surgical camera systems to help improve surgical precision and patient safety. For Cochlear implant, this has certainly proven to be a sound decision.
Article and image provided by Sunway Medical Centre, Sunway City, Malaysia.
AFT Podcasts membentangkan Podkes Move 8, Move It, Move AID, memberi gambaran tentang hati dan minda orang biasa yang menggunakan irama dan kecergasan sebagai terapi untuk hidup dengan baik dan gembira. Hos podkes Jasmine Low & Nikki Yeo mencipta “Move8 Fitness Movement” pada tahun 2018 dan mereka berkongsi lapan kaedah Move8 untuk mencapai kesihatan dan kesejahteraan.
Hidupkan kapsyen pada video podcast ini untuk membaca transkrip: https://youtu.be/EGTMPNERjwE
Dalam episod ini, kami bertemu Ryan Hogan, Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Les Mills Asia Pasifik yang mengejar misi untuk planet yang lebih sihat dan cergas! Berasal dari Kanada, Ryan telah menerajui industri kecergasan selama dua dekad yang lalu dan salah satu karyanya yang paling terkenal adalah di FILEX – Acara Pendidikan Kecergasan terkemuka terbesar. Beliau menyelia Les Mills di lebih 14 negara dari Canberra, Australia ke Malaysia, Filipina, Indonesia, Singapura, Brunei, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Kemboja, Laos, Maldives, Guam dan Papua New Guinea.
Seorang atlet Sukan Olimpik dan Komanwel dengan nama Les Mills menubuhkan sebuah gimnasium di Auckland, New Zealand 50 tahun yang lalu pada tahun 1968. Ia mengambil masa 30 tahun bangunan gimnasium, senaman barbell pra-choreographed inovatif yang dikenali sebagai BODYPUMP® dan visi seorang usahawan bernama Bill Robertson dari Canberra untuk merevolusikan industri kecergasan dengan BODYPUMP® menjadikannya kelas senaman kumpulan yang paling terkenal di dunia. Kemudian datang Les Mills Asia Pacific dan Les Mills International, dan hari ini, perniagaan yang melesenkan 20 program yang berbeza kepada lebih daripada 21,000 kelab di lebih 110 negara dengan lebih daripada 140,000 pengajar bertauliah menyampaikan latihan grup ataupun latihan kumpulan kepada lebih daripada tujuh juta orang setiap minggu.
1:40 (AFT-Jasmine): WOW! Bagaimanakah Les Mills dapat mendaftar 140,000 orang pengajar bertauliah?
(LMAP-Ryan): Perjalanannya panjang dan kami telah mengumpul banyak pengalaman untuk mencapai sukses. Konsep kecergasan gim pada pertengahan 1990-an meletup di seluruh dunia, jadi kami semua bekerja keras, ramai tim yang melambai bendera jenama Les Mills.
Ryan Hogan– Photo credit Les Mills Asia Pacific
2:15 (AFT-Jasmine): Sebahagian besar kerjaya anda adalah dalam perniagaan kecergasan. Bagaimana itu berlaku dan apa yang mendorong semangat anda dalam kecergasan?
(LMAP-Ryan): Seluruh kerjaya saya memang dalam industri kecergasan. Saya adalah ahli gim sejak saya masih sangat muda. Saya menyertai grup kecergasan, pada masa itu pada tahun 80-an dan 90-an, dan memanggilnya Tarian Aerobik. Keluarga saya menggemari muzik, dan muzik adalah sebahagian daripada kehidupan kami. Sifat bersenam serta muzik dalam grup yang besar benar-benar digemari saya. Dari seorang peserta yang mencabari pelatih gim, saya telah dilulus sebagai seorang pengajar semasa saya berada di sekolah perniagaan. Saya sangat bertuah dan bersyukur bahawa saya masih berada dalam bidang kecergasan.
Saya dibesarkan di Mexico dan keahlian gimnasium agak berpatutan namun ia adalah sesuatu aktiviti bukan semua lapisan masyarakat akan dapat akses pada masa itu, tidak berbeza dengan negara-negara lain. Orang Mexico benar-benar meraihkan sukan bola sepak. Jadi kecergasan adalah perkara baru pada pertengahan 90-an, tetapi apabila masyarakat middle-class berkembang, apabila pendapatan mereka kian meningkat di Eropah, Amerika Syarikat ataupun di Asia Tenggara, begitu juga aktiviti seperti kecergasan di gimnasium.
Ryan Hogan – Photo credit Les Mills Asia Pacific
4:57 (AFT-Jasmine) Ibu anda adalah seorang ahli akademik dan anda berpindah dari Kanada ke Mexico. Bagaimana Mexico membentukmu?
Ibu mengajar bahasa Inggeris; English-as-a-second-language. Dia seorang profesor Inggeris. Kami berdua lahir dan dibesarkan di Toronto, Kanada dan ibu mengambil jawatan di Mexico 30 tahun yang lalu dan dia masih berada di sana! Mexico adalah tempat yang indah, penuh dengan orang yang baik, makanan sedap dan budaya mereka yang hebat juga!
5:25 (AFT-Jasmine) Adakah kamu tahu bahawa Datuk Bandar kota Oaxaca di Mexico mengumumkan bahawa anak-anak di bawah umur 18 tahun dilarang membeli minuman manis.
(LMAP-Ryan) Orang Mexico, selain daripada orang dari Amerika Syarikat, adalah konsumer minuman ringan tertinggi di dunia. Mereka meminumnya bergelen-gelen (berliter-liter), jadi larangan ini adalah inisiatif yang baik kerana minuman manis adalah tabiat yang tidak sihat dan penyumbang besar kepada obesiti.
6:00 (AFT-Jasmine) Di negara-negara berbahasa Sepanyol seperti Mexico, muzik adalah teras dalam budaya mereka. Ketika merancang Gerakan Kecergasan Move8, kami diilhamkan oleh video yang dipanggil FOLI, mengenai suku Malinke di Afrika. Seorang lelaki dalam video itu berkata, “tiada pergerakan tanpa irama”. Jadi, program-program Les Mills amat menarik sebab ianya membawa tarian, irama musik dan kegiatan sosial.. bukan hanya senaman. Bagaimana anda mengembangkan jenama ini dengan cara sisi ini?
(LMAP-Ryan) Walaupun saya telah bersama Les Mills hanya selama tiga tahun, saya telah terlibat sebagai instruktur sebelum ini, mengajar kelas kecergasan seperti BODYPUMP®.
Philip Mills, seorang amat penting dalam keluarga Les Mills, berpendapat bahawa muzik itu benar-benar penting dalam bisnis kita. Kami memang cukup bersemangattentang muzik. Pasukan pelesenan kami di New Zealand mula bergerak ke arah mencipta muzik kami sendiri dan bekerja dengan pemuzik dan artis-artis. Kami kini menjadi majikan terbesar artis rakaman di New Zealand, menghasilkan muzik yang dapat diedarkan ke seluruh dunia bersama program kecergasan kita. Semangat kami dengan kualiti dan penelitian di setiap bahagian bisnis kami ini adalah sebahagian besar daripada apa yang mendorong kejayaan kami.
Taktik penelitian itu mungkin berasal dari DNA Olimpiade.. Pengasas Les Mills adalah pemegang rekod diskus selama 40 tahun, betul?
(LMAP-Ryan) Ya, betul. Ya, harus! Sebagai seorang atlet tahap Olimpik, Les Mills memang meneliti dan berobsesi dengan kualiti yang tinggi.
8:20 (AFT-Nikki): Anda sudah lama meneroka bidang kecergasan, mendorong jualan keahlian, meningkatan kemahiran jurulatih kecergasan. Baru-baru ini, Les Mills telah memacu Virtual Fitness dengan aplikasi baru Les Mills PLUS. Apakah pendapat anda mengenai kecergasan secara grup di Metaverse?
(LMAP-Ryan) Kecergasan dalam dunia digital pada tahun 2021 selepas dua tahun menangani Covid-19 dan kita tahu bahawa dalam dunia pra-Covid-19, ramai orang mula bersenam di rumah dan corak aktiviti orang ramai pun berubah. Gimnasium itu bukan semata-mata tempat di mana anda akan bersenam. Orang di bandar besar mungkin kemiskinan masa, tetapi dunia digital mendemokrasikan segala-galanya dan digital juga mudah diakses oleh semua orang yang mempunyai akses ke Internet dan peranti digital. Kecergasan adalah sebahagian daripada dunia digital itu. Enam tujuh tahun lalu, kami telah meningkati program kecergasan di atas talian dunia digital. Ianya bukan fenomena baru. Sesiapa yang berada di sekitar tahun 80-an, akan mengingati ibu-bapa memasang video VHS di ruang tamu dan melakukan beberapa langkah aerobik (mengikuti Jack Lalaine ataupun Jane Fonda). Tetapi sudah tentu digital membawanya ke depan, dan kecergasan yang dimomokkan di rumah. Beberapa tahun yang lalu, kami di Les Mills telah berfikir tentang perniagaan kami, bagaimana mengedarkan produk kami iaitu konten kami dan bagaimana kami boleh berkembang untuk membantu rakan kelab kami melampaui empat dinding dan pergi lebih luas dan selaras dengan misi global kami untuk mengerakkan lebih ramai orang – ‘For a Fitter Planet ‘, mengisi gimnasium dan mendapatkan lebih ramai orang lebih aktif. Jadi kami mula melabur dalam Les Mills On Demand, yang kini dikenali sebagai Les Mills PLUS yang merupakan aplikasi yang menghadap pengguna dan Covid-19 baru sahaja meletup! Digital di sini untuk kekal.
Les Mills Group Fitness – Photo credit Les Mills Asia Pacific
Pada bulan Mei 2021, kami meninjau lebih daripada 12,000 konsumer kecergasan di seluruh dunia dan bertanya, “Apakah tabiat anda pos-pandemik?”.
Majoriti berkata, “Saya ingin dikelilingi rakan-rakan saya, berada di gimnasium, saya ingin menyertai grup kecergasan! Tapi aku sudah terbiasa, dan menikmati kenyamanan bekerja di luar rumah”. 60% berkata mereka ingin melatih di gimnasium dengan rakan-rakan dan instruktor. 40% berkata mereka akan latih bersendirian. Pada masa ini kami terlibat melalui aplikasi, atau TV. Langkah seterusnya adalah realiti maya, realiti tambahan antara tempat ketiga antara kerja dan rumah. Fikirkan jenama Apple, Amazon dan Google. Misi Apple mengelilingi kesihatan individu dan mereka ingin menjadikan dunia lebih sihat. Masa kita di ruang tradisional itu singkat, tetapi terdapat banyak peluang juga.
12:27 (AFT-Jasmine) Dengan ini meta alam semesta besar datang ke depan, apa yang Les Mills benar-benar semua tentang?
(LMAP-Ryan) “For a Fitter Planet”! Itulah risalah Les Mills. Kami ingin mengubah pengalaman kecergasan dalam dinamik grup. Kami bersemangat tentang kualiti kelas kami, kami bersemangat tentang kualiti instruktur kami dan kami benar-benar percaya pada sukses menjalankan aktiviti grup.
Les Mills Virtual Training – – Photo credit Les Mills Asia Pacific
Memandangkan latar belakang saya walaupun pra-Les Mills, bersenam dalam kumpulan adalah apa yang mengubah hidup saya. Di dunia Les Mills, kita memiliki istilah ini kita sebut groupness. Maksud saya ia bukan perkataan yang sebenar, tetapi kuasa kumpulan adalah keterangkuman berada dalam kumpulan, ia adalah akauntabiliti berada dalam kumpulan, muncul ke kelas dengan rakan-rakan anda, sambungan yang anda ada dengan pengajar di atas pentas yang sangat bersedia untuk menyampaikan pengalaman seolah rockstar, ia adalah peningkatan tenaga yang anda dapat dari berada di sekeliling orang lain.
Seperti kita semua, saya telah melalui beberapa lockdown semasa covid-19 ini. Saya mempunyai persediaan rumah yang cukup baik jadi saya dilatih melaluinya kerana senaman adalah sebahagian daripada hidup saya tetapi lockdown tidak akan menghentikan itu. Saya melakukan senaman yang sama di rumah tetapi saya mendapati bahawa monitor kadar jantung saya menunjukkan saya bekerja 30% lebih keras apabila bekerja dalam kumpulan dengan rakan-rakan di studio daripada ketika berada di rumah. Dan itulah kekuatan dari sebuah kelompok! Ini adalah angkat kolektif berada di sekitar orang-orang yang bekerja dengan Anda dengan instruktur. Kuasa pasang surut.
Satu lagi analogi yang boleh saya buat adalah perbezaan antara mendengar muzik di Spotify dan apabila mendengar lagu yang sama yang dipersembahkan secara langsung dalam konsert, yang dipersembahkan di hadapan penonton secara langsung, ia adalah kuasa pasang surut yang semakin meningkat, itulah kekuatan kumpulan.
15:00 (AFT-Jasmine): Nombor lapan, Move8 adalah idea di mana anda memerlukan lapan orang dalam grup untuk menggalakkan satu sama lain untuk beraktif. Keluarga saya mempunyai Penyakit Ginjal (Type 2 Diabetes). Bermulanya, saya pra-diabetik tetapi sejak memulakan podcast ini, saya telah berjaya membalikkan pra-diabetes saya. Jadi kami ingin berkongsi melalui podkes ini.
Apa yang Les Mills cuba lakukan di seluruh Asia Tenggara, termasuk di Guam, Maldives.. Jadi jika saya seorang instruktur kecergasan dan saya berminat untuk menyertai Les Mills, bagaimana saya melakukannya?
(LMAP-Ryan) Kami telah melatih lebih dari 140,000 instruktur aktif di seluruh dunia, dan ratusan ribu instruktur tiday aktif selama 25 tahun, kami sudah cukup baik pada sistem yang telah kami ciptakan. Jika anda berada di Asia Tenggara atau Australia, itu adalah proses tiga hari yang rusak selama beberapa bulan. Anda akan mendapat latihan kemahiran program BODYPUMP® atau apa sahaja yang anda mahu belajar, kemudian dua hari di mana anda diajar asas-asas apa yang diperlukan dalam menyampaikan pengalaman bertaraf dunia. Selepas dua hari itu, anda keluar dan bekerja dengan mentor pengajar di kelab kesihatan tempatan anda, dan anda mula membayangi di mana anda berada di atas pentas berdiri di belakang pengajar, meniru pergerakan tanpa pengajaran, maka akhirnya anda memulakan pengajaran pasukan, di mana anda berkongsi kelas, di mana mentor anda akan memberi anda maklum balas. Lapan minggu kemudian, anda muncul pada hari ketiga, di mana anda kemudian membentangkan (mengajar) beberapa lagu kepada rakan-rakan anda beberapa kali dan selepas hari ketiga jika anda telah memenuhi kriteria dan lulus penilaian, anda mula mengajar. Ini tidak mudah! Kami dikenal untuk pelatihan tidak mudah sama sekali. Ini adalah latihan yang menuntut secara fizikal, kerana anda perlu menjadi model peranan fizikal jika anda akan menjadi pengajar dengan jenama. Kami mempunyai kriteria yang sangat ketat dan ia juga mungkin gagal. Tetapi kami bangga dengan kriteria yang anda perlukan untuk memenuhi dan di luar latihan, ada peningkatan kemahiran yang berterusan. Program kami dikemas kini setiap suku tahun dan pengajar kami perlu meningkatkan kemahiran setiap suku tahun dengan mempelajari siaran baru.
Ini adalah bagaimana kita mengekalkan obsesi kita dengan kualiti. Kami telah melakukan 120-130 siaran setiap tiga bulan dan kami tidak berhenti walaupun semasa Covid. Kita perlu mengemas kini setiap suku tahun dan kita perlu memastikan bahawa kita mempunyai pergerakan terkini dan muzik terkini, dan kita tidak berhenti walaupun semasa Covid. Kami memastikan kami menemukan cara untuk membuatnya bekerja bahkan selama penguncian ketat. Kandungan kami secara global dihasilkan di Auckland, New Zealand di mana studio rakaman kami terletak. Obsesi ini dengan kualiti benar-benar sebahagian daripada siapa kita.
19:50 (AFT-Jasmine) Bagaimanakah pemilik gimnasium mendaftar masuk ke perkongsian Les Mills?
Apabila anda bekerjasama dengan Les Mills, kami akan datang dan melesenkan produk dan kelas, dan kami menambah nilai dengan menyokong anda dengan menguruskan jadual waktu kecergasan kumpulan anda. Selalunya kelab kesihatan adalah perniagaan kecil-sederhana dan mempunyai beberapa cabaran yang berbeza dan kecergasan kumpulan adalah salah satu daripada mereka. Kami benar-benar bekerjasama dengan kelab dan membawa nilai positif. Kelab hartanah dan kesihatan kecergasan kumpulan harus menjadi bahagian hartanah yang paling menguntungkan dalam kelab kesihatan kerana bilangan orang yang anda boleh berpaling ganda.
21:00 (AFT-Nikki): Beritahu kami lebih lanjut tentang misi Les Mills, “For a Fitter Planet”.
(LMAP-Ryan) Ada buku ini oleh Simon Sinek, “Mulakan dengan Mengapa”, perniagaan hebat bermula dengan mengapa dan apa yang lebih hebat mengapa daripada Untuk Planet Fitter. Ini benar-benar tentang segala sesuatu yang kita lakukan. Kami percaya pada kekuatan kecergasan untuk benar-benar mengubah planet ini, untuk mengubah cara kita hidup dan kesihatan kita. Kecergasan adalah salah satu elemen kesihatan, ia adalah apa yang anda makan, tidur anda, ia adalah tentang mewujudkan Planet Fitter. Kami percaya melalui kualiti kelas kecergasan kumpulan kami, sama ada di kelab atau di rumah melalui aplikasi Les Mills PLUS, kami benar-benar boleh menyumbang kepada planet yang lebih sihat dan cergas. Ini obsesi yang kita miliki tentang terus bergerak maju.
22:20 (AFT-Jasmine) Di Singapura dan Malaysia, kami sudah biasa dengan jenama seperti Class Pass, K-Fit, Guava Pass dan lain-lain. Apa pendapat anda tentang peluang seperti ini untuk pengguna, dan di sisi lain, untuk perniagaan?
(LMAP-Ryan) Mereka adalah “aggregator”, dan bagi konsumer, ianya bagus sebab ramai. Ia memberi pengguna lebih banyak peluang untuk mencuba senaman yang berbeza. Ia hebat di sisi lain untuk kemudahan, studio dan kelab kerana ia adalah hebat untuk mengakses lebih ramai orang dan mendapatkan lebih ramai orang melalui pintu mereka. Ia bagus untuk studio yang lebih kecil yang berjuang untuk mendapatkan lebih ramai orang ke gim mereka. Akhirnya ia adalah tentang mendemokrasikan akses kepada kecergasan. Sekiranya jenama ini mendapat lebih banyak orang yang lebih aktif, itu adalah perkara yang baik.
27:50 (AFT-Jasmine): Adakah anda fikir model perniagaan gim akan berubah pada masa akan datang?
(LMAP-Ryan) Penyelidikan baru-baru ini yang kami lakukan pada bulan Mei 2021 menunjukkan sambutan yang luar biasa kepada, “Saya mahu bersenam dengan orang lain, saya mahu berada dalam kumpulan, saya mahu berada di sekeliling orang lain”. Itu adalah alasan no. 1 mengapa aku ingin keluar. Saya tidak percaya gim akan berubah secara drastik, selain daripada mereka perlu memeluk digital. Ia secara tradisinya sejenis perniagaan batu bata dan mortar, anda mendapat keahlian, kami mahu anda datang ke gim sekerap yang anda boleh kerana itu meningkatkan kepenatan dan anda akan tinggal lebih lama, tetapi kami tahu bahawa selepas dua tahun belajar bagaimana untuk bersenam di rumah, sebahagian daripada kita telah menjadi agak baik pada itu, jadi gimnasium, kelab kesihatan perlu belajar tentang bagaimana untuk menjadi saluran pengedaran untuk itu, dan bersaing dengan orang-orang seperti Apple, Google dan lain-lain. Apple tidak ingin membawamu ke gym. Apple mahu membuat anda sihat dan menjual jam tangan dan telefon anda.
Kelab kesihatan atau gimnasium benar-benar boleh menjadi pusat itu. Ia boleh menjadi tempat ketiga. Anda telah mendapat rumah, kerja dan tempat ketiga, di mana di banyak negara tempat ketiga akan menjadi pub. Gim bisa menjadi tempat ketiga. Jika pengguna memakan kecergasan secara digital, maka gimnasium perlu melihat bagaimana mereka boleh menjadi sebahagian daripada itu dan bagaimana mereka boleh memberikan pengalaman yang luar biasa di gimnasium dan juga di rumah, maka ahli mereka tidak perlu pergi ke tempat lain.
Saya tidak fikir model perniagaan akan berubah sebanyak itu tetapi bagaimana anda menunaikan janji yang akan berubah.
Dalam penyelidikan, negara mana yang paling aktif ketika datang ke kecergasan?
(LMAP-Ryan) Australia, New Zealand, Amerika Syarikat, United Kingdom dan Eropah Barat, dan ia tidak ada kaitan dengan budaya tetapi kematangan industri kecergasan. Jika anda melihat peratusan penduduk di negara-negara Asia yang merupakan ahli gimnasium, ia sangat rendah. Walau bagaimanapun, jika anda melihat penyertaan bandar di bandar-bandar besar seperti Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok atau Jakarta, ia jauh lebih tinggi. Potensi untuk berkembang adalah untuk berpindah dari pusat bandar ke negara ini.
27:50 (AFT-Jasmine) Apakah ada konvensi tahunan yang les Mills jalankan?
(LMAP-Ryan) Pra-Covid, ya, kita telah melakukannya. Kami mempunyai komuniti besar, besar, besar pengajar dan jurulatih di Eropah dan komuniti besar di Amerika Utara – pasaran kecergasan terbesar di dunia. Kami digunakan untuk berkumpul di suatu tempat di Eropa di mana kita bisa membuat banyak kebisingan! Yang terakhir kami lakukan adalah di sebuah resor di Eropa Selatan. Ia hebat!
Kami juga telah pergi digital dengan persidangan dan acara dalam talian tetapi kami benar-benar melihat untuk menghasilkan Les Mills Live, di mana kami membawa jenama hidup-hidup kepada masyarakat. Ia berjalan beberapa hari, dengan program yang dicipta oleh pengajar di New Zealand. Les Mills Live terakhir adalah di Marina Bay Sands di Singapura dengan lebih dari 2000 instruktur. Kami menjalankan pertempuran badan dengan lebih daripada 1200 orang di kelas di dalam bilik BIG dengan banyak skrin dan pentas BIG. Ini mengenai kelompokan, dan bagaimana bersenam dengan hanya beberapa rakan sekerja di dalam bilik, kini bayangkan dengan 1200 orang. Ini pengalaman yang hebat! Perhimpunan besar itu adalah sebahagian daripada keteguhan jenama kami, dan kami benar-benar berharap untuk melakukannya lagi.
32:00 (AFT-Jasmine): Mengapa anda fikir orang Australia dan New Zealand hanya begitu baik pada program kecergasan?
(LMAP-Ryan) Antipodeans, iaitu Australia dan New Zealand mempunyai budaya sukan BIG yang tertanam dari ketika anda masih kecil, anda membuang bola atau menendang bola, anda berlari atau berenang, anda berada di kolam renang atau menyelam. Sukan di TV, anda pergi ke footie dengan bapa anda, pasangan anda, lelaki atau perempuan, ia adalah sebahagian daripada budaya yang berurat berakar dan konsep menjadi sihat dan sihat tertanam dalam budaya. Yang saya pikir berbeda dari seluruh dunia.
Try this 30-minute at-home Strength Training Workout | BODYPUMP | LES MILLS x REEBOK: https://youtu.be/kPl66RocFDo
Terima kasih kerana menyertai kami pada satu lagi episod Move it, Move 8, Move AID Podcast. Langgan pada platform podcast pilihan anda.
Show Credits:
Thanks to Analee at Les Mills Asia Pacific for making this interview happen.
AFT Podcasts presents The Move 8, Move It, Move AID Podcast, giving insight into the hearts and minds of everyday people who use rhythm and movement as therapy to live well and be happy. Co-hosts Jasmine Low & Nikki Yeo created the Move8 Fitness Movementin 2018, and have been perfecting the eight pillar method towards living well.
Turn on captions on this podcast video to read the transcript: https://youtu.be/EGTMPNERjwE
In this episode, we meet Ryan Hogan, CEO of Les Mills Asia Pacific who is pursuing a mission for a fitter, healthier planet! Originally from Canada, Ryan has been spearheading the fitness industry for the last two decades and one of his best known work is at FILEX – THE largest leading Fitness Education Event. He oversees Les Mills in over 14 countries from Canberra, Australia to Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Maldives, Guam and Papua New Guinea.
An Olympian and Commonwealth Games athlete by the name of Les Mills set up a gym in Auckland, New Zealand 50 years ago in 1968. It took 30 years of gym building, an innovative pre-choreographed barbell workout known as BODYPUMP® and the vision of an entrepreneur named Bill Robertson from Canberra to revolutionise the fitness industry with BODYPUMP® making it the world’s most famous group exercise class. Then came Les Mills Asia Pacific and Les Mills International, and today, a business that licences 20 different programs to over 21,000 clubs in over 110 countries with over 140,000 accredited Instructors delivering group workouts to over 7 million people each week.
1:40 (AFT-Jasmine): WOW! How did you guys get to 140,000 instructors?
(LMAP-Ryan): It’s been a long journey. It was a concept in the mid 1990s that exploded around the world that included a lot of hard work, a lot of people hitting the roads, waving the flag, doing a lot of hard yards.
Ryan Hogan– Photo credit Les Mills Asia Pacific
2:15 (AFT-Jasmine): You spent a substantial part of your career in the business of fitness. How did that happen and what drove your passion in fitness?
(LMAP-Ryan): My whole career has been in the fitness industry. I have been a gym member since I was very young. I fell into a gym where I grew up, I joined group fitness, at the time in the 80s and 90s, and called it Aerobic Dance. I come from a family where music was a part of our lives and there was something about the rhythmic nature of exercising to music and being in a large group, so it really gelled with me. So from there, from being a very annoying and challenging participant to becoming an instructor while I was in business school. I’m very fortunate and grateful for the journey that it’s been and I’ve always been in fitness.
I grew up in Mexico and gym membership was quite affordable yet it was something the middle and upper class did, not dissimilar to other countries. Mexicans are really into their sport – soccer or football. So fitness was a new thing in the mid 90s, but as the middle class grew, as disposable income grew, not dissimilar to Southeast Asia, so did activities like fitness at gyms.
Ryan Hogan – Photo credit Les Mills Asia Pacific
4:57 (AFT-Jasmine) I understand your mum is an academic and you moved from the UK to Mexico. How did Mexico shape you?
Mum teaches English as a second language. She’s an English professor and that’s how we ended up in Mexico. Both of us were born and bred in Toronto, Canada and mum took a post in Mexico 30 years ago and she’s still there! It’s a wonderful place, full of wonderful people, great food and culture!
5:25 (AFT-Jasmine) There’s a city, Oaxaca where its Mayor came up with a law and banned kids under the age of 18 from buying sugary drinks.
(LMAP-Ryan) Mexicans, other than people from the United States, are some of the highest consumers of the soft drink in the world. They drink it by the gallon (litre), but that’s a great initiative because it’s a massive contributor to obesity and unhealthy habits.
6:00 (AFT-Jasmine) In those Spanish speaking countries like Mexico, music is such a core in their cultures. When designing the Move8 Fitness Movement, we were inspired by a video called FOLI, about the Malinke tribe in Africa. A gentleman in the video says, “there can be no movement without rhythm”. When you think of Les Mills programs, it’s all about dance, music, it’s fun and social.. it’s not even exercise. Tell us how you’ve grown this brand in this lateral way.
(LMAP-Ryan) I’ve been with Les Mills for three years but I’ve been involved as an instructor for a long time teaching body pump groups.
Philip Mills, who is very central in the creation of the Les Mills family will talk about music being really central in what we do. We’re pretty obsessed about music, and the equality of music. Our licensing team in New Zealand, we’ve moved towards creating our own music and employing recording artists. We’re now the largest employer of recording artists in New Zealand because of what we need to produce to be able to distribute around the world. Our obsession with quality and the refinement of every single piece is a big part of what’s driven our success.
It must stem down to the DNA of the Olympian, doesn’t it? We understand Mr. Les Mills holds the record for discus for 40 years?!
(LMAP-Ryan) You’d have to! If you’re performing at that level, you’ve got to be obsessed with quality.
8:20 (AFT-Nikki): You’ve been in the business of fitness, driving membership sales, engagement and upskilling of fitness coaches. Recently, Les Mills has taken Virtual Fitness even further with the new app Les Mills PLUS. What are your thoughts on group fitness in the Metaverse?
(LMAP-Ryan) A good question, so bear with me. I think digital fitness, we’re sitting here at the end of 2021 after two years of dealing with Covid and we know that in the pre-Covid-19 world, people were exercising at home, people’s patterns were changing. It was no longer that the gym was the be-all and end-all for where you would consume your exercise. As people were more time poor, especially in larger cities, digital democratises everything and becomes accessible to everyone for everyone who had access to the Internet and to digital devices and fitness was a part of that. In the last six to seven years, there has been a huge explosion of digital fitness. At-home-fitness is not a new phenomenon. Anyone who was around in the 80s, would remember your parents plugging in the VHS video in the lounge room and doing some step aerobics (Jack Lalaine or Jane Fonda). But of course digital brought it front and centre, and democratised fitness at home. As it relates to us at Les Mills, a few years ago we thought this was something we looked at, we’ve been in the business of distributing our product, our content through the health clubs for 20 odd years but we were looking at how we could grow, to help our club partners go beyond the four walls and go wider and in line with our global mission to get more people ‘For a Fitter Planet’, filling up the gyms and getting more people more active. So we started investing in the Les Mills On Demand, which is now called Les Mills PLUS which is a consumer-facing app and Covid-19 just exploded! Digital is here to stay.
Les Mills Group Fitness – Photo credit Les Mills Asia Pacific
We ran a consumer behaviour survey in May 2021 and we surveyed over 12,000 fitness consumers around the world asked what are your habits going to be like post-pandemic. Majority said, I definitely miss being around my friends, being in the gym, I miss group workouts. But I’m used to, and enjoy the convenience of working out from home. They overwhelmingly said they’d spend 60% of their time working in the gym and 40% working on it on their own. So it’s here to stay and the technology will grow in leaps and bounds. At the moment we’re engaging through an app, or the TV, watching and engaging. The next step would be virtual reality, augmented reality between the third place between work and home. I think we’re only getting started.
If you look outside the Les Mills environment, Apple, Amazon, Google… Google bought Fitbit, Apple’s mission is around health and making the world healthier, so there’s lots of interesting times ahead. Very disruptive times for those of us in the traditional space, but lots of opportunities as well.
12:27 (AFT-Jasmine) With this huge meta universe coming ahead, what is Les Mills really all about?
(LMAP-Ryan) We’re for a Fitter Planet. How we contribute towards a fitter planet is by creating life changing group fitness experiences. We’re obsessed about the quality of our classes, we’re obsessed about the quality of our instructors that deliver at them and we really really believe in the power of exercising in groups.
Les Mills Virtual Training – – Photo credit Les Mills Asia Pacific
Given my background even pre-Les Mills, exercising in groups is what changed my life. In the Les Mills world, we have this term we call groupness. I mean it’s not a real word, but the power of groupness is the stickiness of being in a group, it’s the accountability of being in a group, of turning up to a class with your friends, the connection you have with the instructor on stage who’s super prepared to deliver a rock star experience, it’s the lift of energy that you get from being around others.
Like all of us, I’ve been through quite a few lockdowns during these Covid times. I’ve got a pretty good home setup so I trained through it because exercise was a part of my life but lockdown wasn’t going to stop that. I do the same workout at home but I found that my heart rate monitor showed I worked 30% harder when working in a group with colleagues at the studio than when being at home. And that’s the power of a group! It’s the collective lift of being around people who are working out with you with an instructor. The power of rising tides.
Another analogy I can make is the difference between listening to music on Spotify and when listening to that same song performed live in a concert, performed in front of a live audience, it’s the power of rising tides, that’s the power of groupness.
15:00 (AFT-Jasmine): It’s like how we came up with Move8, the eight is an idea where you need eight people in your circle to encourage each other to move.
I come from a family where we have a history of Type 2 Diabetes. I was pre-diabetic but since starting these podcasts, I have managed to reverse my pre-diabetes. So this is what we wish to share with these podcasts.
What Les Mills is trying to do across Southeast Asia, including in Guam, Maldives.. It’s a really amazing thing. So if I’m a fitness instructor and I’m interested in joining Les Mills, how do I do that?
(LMAP-Ryan) We’ve trained over 140,000 active instructors over the world, and hundreds of thousands of instructors over 25 years, we’ve been pretty good at the system we’ve created. If you’re in Southeast Asia or Australia, it’s a three-day process broken up over a couple of months. Do some pre-work, you’ll get your programme materials whether it’s body pump or body combat or whatever you wish to so and learn them beforehand, then two-days of immersion where you get taught the basics of what’s required in delivering a world class experience. After those two-days, you go out and work with an instructor mentor at your local health club, and you start shadowing where you are on stage standing behind the instructor, mimicking the movements without teaching, then eventually you start team teaching, where you share the class, where your mentor will give you feedback. Eight weeks later, you turn up on day three, where you then present (teach) a couple of songs to your peers several times and after day three if you’ve met the criteria and passed the assessments, you start teaching. It’s not easy! We’re known for the training not being easy at all. It’s a physically demanding training, because you need to be a physical role model if you’re going to be an instructor with the brand. We have very strict criteria and it’s even possible to fail. But we pride ourselves in the criteria you’ll need to meet and beyond training, there’s constant upskilling. Our programmes get updated every quarter and our instructors will need to upskill every quarter by learning the new releases.
This is how we maintain our obsession with quality. We’ve done 120-130 releases every three months and we’ve not stopped even during Covid. We have to update every quarter and we have to make sure that we have the latest moves and the latest music, and we’ve not stopped even during Covid. We made sure we found a way to make it work even during strict lockdowns. Our content globally is produced in Auckland, New Zealand where our recording studio is located. This obsession with quality is really a part of who we are.
19:50 (AFT-Jasmine) How does a gym owner sign on to a Les Mills partnership?
When you partner with Les Mills, we’ll come in and licence the products and classes, and we add value by supporting you with managing your group fitness timetable. Often health clubs are small to medium sized businesses and have a number of different challenges and group fitness is one of them. We really partner with the clubs and bring value. The group fitness real estate and health club should be the most profitable piece of real estate within the health club because of the number of people you can turn around.
21:00 (AFT-Nikki): Do tell us even more about the Les Mills mission, “For a Fitter Planet”.
(LMAP-Ryan) There’s this book by Simon Sinek, “Start with Why”, great businesses start with why and what a more awesome why than For a Fitter Planet. It’s really about everything that we do. We believe in the power of fitness to really transform the planet, to transform the way we live and our health. Fitness is one element of health, it’s what you eat, your sleep, it’s about creating a Fitter Planet. We believe through the quality of our group fitness classes, whether it’s in-club or it’s at-home through the Les Mills PLUS app, we can really contribute to a healthier and fitter planet. It’s this obsession we have about keeping moving forward.
22:20 (AFT-Jasmine) In Singapore and Malaysia, we are familiar with brands like Class Pass, K-Fit, Guava Pass etc. What do you think about opportunities like these for the consumer, and on the flip-side, for the business?
(LMAP-Ryan) These are aggregators, and for consumers, it’s great for choice. It gave consumers more opportunities to try different workouts. It was great on the other side for the facilities, the studios and clubs as it was great to access more people and get more people through their doors. It was great for smaller studios who were struggling to get more people into their gyms. Ultimately it was about democratising access to fitness. If these brands were getting more people more active, that’s a good thing.
27:50 (AFT-Jasmine): Do you think the business models of gyms will be changing in future?
(LMAP-Ryan) The recent research we did in May 2021 showed an overwhelming response to, “I want to exercise with others, I want to be in groups, I want to be around others”. That was the no. 1 reason why I’d like to get out. I don’t believe gyms will change that drastically, other than they need to embrace digital. It’s been traditionally a bricks and mortar kind of business, you get a membership, we want you come to the gym as often as you can because that increases stickiness and you’ll stay for longer, but we know that after two-years of learning how to exercise at home, some of us have become quite good at that, so the gyms, the health clubs need to learn about how to become the distribution channels for that, and compete with the likes of Apple, Google etc. Apple doesn’t want to get you into the gym. Apple wants to get you healthy and sell you watches and phones.
The health club or gym can really be that centre. It could be that third place. You’ve got home, work and the third place, where in many countries the third place would be the pub. The gym could be that third place. If consumers are consuming fitness digitally, then the gyms will need to see how they can be a part of that and how they can provide an amazing experience in the gyms and also at home, then their members won’t need to go elsewhere.
I don’t think the business model will change that much but how you deliver on the promise that will change.
In the research, which countries are the most active when it comes to fitness?
(LMAP-Ryan) No surprises, it was Australia, New Zealand, United States, United Kingdom and Western Europe, and it had nothing to do with culture but the maturity of the fitness industry. If you were to look at the percentage of the population in Asian countries who are members of gyms, it’s very low. However, if you were to look at urban participation in big cities like Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok or Jakarta, it’s much higher. The potential to grow is to move out from the urban centres into the country.
27:50 (AFT-Jasmine) Is there an annual convention that Les Mills runs?
(LMAP-Ryan) Pre-Covid, yes, we have done them. We have a big, big, big community of instructors and trainers in Europe and a massive community in North America – the biggest fitness market in the world. We used to get together somewhere in Europe where we could make lots of noise! The last one we did was at a resort in Southern Europe. It was fantastic!
We’ve also gone digital with online conferences and events but we’re really looking at producing Les Mills Live, where we bring the brand alive to the community. It runs a couple of days, with the programs created by instructors in New Zealand. The last Les Mills Live was at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore with over 2000 instructors. We ran body combat with over 1200 people in the class in a BIG room with lots of screens and a BIG stage. It’s about groupness, and how exercising with just a few colleagues in a room, now picture that with 1200 people. It’s a wonderful experience! Those big gatherings are a real part of the stickiness of our brand, and we really look forward to doing it again.
32:00 (AFT-Jasmine): Why do you think Australians and New Zealanders are just so good at fitness programs?
(LMAP-Ryan) Antipodeans, i.e. Australian and New Zealand have a BIG sporting culture ingrained from when you’re a child, you’re throwing a ball or kicking a ball, you’re running or swimming, you’re in a pool or diving. Sports on the TV, you go to the footie with your father, your mates, male or female, it’s such an ingrained part of culture and the concept of being fit and healthy is ingrained in culture. That I think is different from the rest of the world.
Try this 30-minute at-home Strength Training Workout | BODYPUMP | LES MILLS x REEBOK: https://youtu.be/kPl66RocFDo
Thank you for joining us on another episode of the Move it, Move 8, Move AID Podcast. Subscribe on your preferred podcast platform. See you next time and remember, why just be fit when you can be fit for good. Is there someone you could journey with? Walk with? Take a drive with?
Show Credits:
Thanks to Analee at Les Mills Asia Pacific for making this interview happen.
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