DABAWENYOS who are resolved to have a physically healthier lifestyle starting 2017 and live longer, but don’t know where to start, should not worry. Philam Life, the country’s leading life insurance company, has workable and well-researched ideas about how one can achieve physical wellness.
Of late, insurance companies have been known to be aggressive in promoting savings-consciousness first and then investment-consciousness second. Then, why is Philam Life now into physical health and wellness advocacy?
“It is because financial wealth and physical health are correlated,” explained Charito Haosen Azarias, unit manager in the sales agency force of Philamlife, in an interview over lunch last Thursday.
An individual needs discipline and planning to achieve both. Indeed, one is not truly financially well-off if all the money he has accumulated in work, business or pursuit of a profession only goes to medicine and management of his life-threatening illnesses.
Not expensive
And yet, maintaining one’s health and wellness does not need to be expensive.
Azarias, who does not look like she had been with Philam for the last 17 years, married with three kids, said there are so many ways to be healthy without spending for exercise equipment or enrolling in a fitness gym.
“At this point Philam Life is launching Philamlife Vitality app because we want the people to be aware of healthy lifestyle.
“We want them to know the result or consequence of healthy lifestyle and healthy lifestyle also entail financial wellness,” she said.
“It is a general mindset that healthy lifestyle is expensive because one has to enroll in a gym or buy exercise equipment,” Ms Azarias said.
Choices
“Not true, because we have choices. We can eat processed food or junk food. We can plant a lot of food in our backyard. It is a choice between camote and French fries. It is just a matter of thinking out of the box.”
“Like if we want to remove the extra pounds gained during Christmas season and cannot find the time or unwilling to enroll in a gym; we may take the stairs instead of the elevator. We may walk going to our destination kung malapit lang, instead of riding in a car. “
Azarias said that “we are empowered to choose our daily activities and food intake.”
“It is really being conscious of our physical activities,” she said.
Azarias said this advocacy has been pursued by our sister companies as we’re present in 17 countries.
She said her company encourages Filipinos to download the Philam Vitality app.
“The app would track your health activities and then you would get rewarded para ma-encourage ka,” said Ms Azarias. “Like for every 250 points in one week, it’s either you get a movie pass or something else.”
She said a lot of participants have already received rewards. It involves 7,500 steps to get 250 points. “So if I walk like 5,600 steps, I don’t get the 250 points as the tracking is weekly. If you don’t get the 250 points, wala kang rewards? So you start again. You cannot add the other points in the past week to your present milestone.
“We do it in our AIA areas. Same objective but different applications in different countries, Ms Azarias bared, saying that Vitality app is not owned by Philam Life “but we partnered with them.”
“We can imagine ourselves 10, 20 years from now. How would our lifestyle be? Can we still walk without a cane? Okay be yong kidney mo, is it functioning well?
“Of course, we cannot change the past, but we can change our lifestyle. We can be moving a lot for a change,” she said.
What is starchy food and what is fibrous food? Whole wheat, brown bread or white bread?, she asked.
Free app
“Take note that Vitality app is free for everybody, whether or not one is a Philam Life client or not, “ she said.
Azarias said that through the app, an individual can even know his vitality age.
“When you go into the app, tatanungin ka nong mga activities mo. Then, depending on your answers it will tell you what is your vitality age.
“It’s very interesting. You may just only be 30 years old, but your vitality age could be 50 years, if you are not moving physically or you’re not eating the right food, or you’re either just watching TV or playing games in the Internet.”
5 important things
Azarias said there are five things that we should be very mindful of every day.
“One is our food intake.
“Two, our water intake should be enough as hydration is very important.
“Three is enough amount of sleep. Sadly, the young ones now sleep very few hours lang.
“Four is physical activities.
“And five is financial wellness.
She said people should watch how they manage their finances so they will not be stressed because stress is the beginning of many kinds of sickness, including those that are life-threatening.
