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80% of cardiovascular disease can be prevented by leading a healthy lifestyle
#CardiacConversations with Philips

 
  • Philips’s second #CardiacConversations panel discussion kicks off as part of its annual Cape Town to Cairo Roadshow
  • Philips drives awareness around the importance of changing eating behaviours in order to reduce the likelihood of cardiac diseases
  •  Heart disease and strokes, is the second biggest killer in South Africa, after HIV/AIDS

May 14, 2015

Johannesburg, South Africa – Philips’ Cape Town to Cairo roadshow is back for the sixth consecutive year. On Monday 11th May 2015, Philips started its annual journey across the African continent, covering 12,000 km, 11 cities and 8 countries over a period of 4.5 months.

 

The roadshow, which started in South Africa this year, has gained significant momentum over the past five years. As a result Philips has got to the very heart of some of the key issues facing Africa – access to primary healthcare, lighting solutions and developing consumer products focused on driving better consumer health and wellness.

 

With Philips’ strong focus on consumer eating behaviours across the continent, trends indicate that due to lack of education, consumers tend to choose a calorie-dense and unhealthy diet, leading Philips to drive further conversation and education around alternative solutions.

“#CardiacConversations, now in its second year, is an interactive panel discussion with leading experts in healthcare and wellness fields. It encourages hearty debates and open discussions around the importance of lifestyle changes and healthy food preparation as preventative measures against developing heart disease,” said Lucy Jones Marketing Head for Philips Personal Health in Africa.

 

“Our research and development teams are mandated to interrogate consumer’s daily cooking needs while also maintaining an imperative focus on developing technologies that make a real difference in people’s lives. In 2015, this difference is around saving valuable time so more of it can be spent with families, it is also around healthy cooking alternatives to reduce health risks”

 

“Obesity, globally, but even more scarily amongst adolescence is growing at an alarming rate – education around healthy eating needs to happen early on to avoid serious health risks,” added Jones.

 

According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of South Africa cardiovascular disease, which includes heart disease and strokes, is the second biggest killer in South Africa, after HIV/AIDS. Interestingly, 80% of cardiovascular disease can be prevented by leading a healthy lifestyle. Furthermore diseases like strokes, type two diabetes and cancers are all on the increase, due to increasingly poor diets.

 

Understandably, barriers to healthy eating tend to remain a strong excuse for consumers choosing the unhealthy route - peer pressure, aggressive marketing of foods, busy lifestyles, limited time and general lack of awareness around healthier alternatives. This, all culminating in intakes of energy-dense, micronutrient-poor, convenient, ‘junk’ foods that are becoming more affordable and available in developing countries.

 

Dr Peter Hill of Met- S Care concurs saying that the lifestyle diseases associated with Metabolic Syndrome  - a cluster of conditions diagnosed when three or more lifestyle-related chronic conditions or disorders like diabetes, cholesterol and high blood pressure are found together - pose the highest cardiovascular risk. “There is no doubt that South Africans are getting heavier and sicker and that obesity has become a modern day global pandemic that is contributing to deaths from non-communicable diseases (NCD) at a faster rate than ever before.”  Hill says healthier food choices which avoid sugar and refined carbohydrates help reduce insulin levels and provide significantly healthier outcomes.

Simply put, healthy eating is one of the most important things families can do to lead a healthier life combined with physical activity.

 

John Hamlett, Coach for Nike South Africa and Elite athletic team Samancor added, “We need to look at eating clean and smart while also finding the right balance for your body’s needs. Be careful of the ‘bikini syndrome’ – what is shows is important, what it hides is critical. Balance is best”.

 

Two products produced and developed to encourage ease of use in order for consumers to make healthier cooking choices are the Philips Avance Airfryer and Philips Avance Juicer.

 

“The Philips Avance Airfryer XL which is the global #1 low fat fryer according to Euromonitor is single-handedly making air the new oil. This simple, yet effective appliance is a versatile addition to any kitchen as it’s able to fry, grill, roast and bake your favourite foods using little to no oil. The Avance Airfryer removes up to 80% oil that you would have otherwise consumed. It not only sets itself apart from other products but makes a real difference in our consumers’ lives,” added Jones.

 

The Philips Avance Airfryer was recently voted as Product of the Year (POY) in the Small Cooking Appliance category by the Consumer Survey of Innovation 2015 in South Africa, testament to the success of the technological innovation in the product.

 

“Philips will continue to develop products and encourage important conversations like these to assist consumers on this health journey. Encouraging healthier food preparation and food choices is key and our products will always support the time and effort constraints that is so often used as the excuse not to start the journey in the first place,” concluded Jones.

 

Join our #CardiacConversation discussion via Twitter and Facebook

 

For more information on metabolic syndrome visit www.metscare.com

Notes to Editors:

 

Chef Nina cooked the below meals in the Philips Avance Airfryer:

  • Pork spring rolls with chilli & garlic dipping sauce
  • Steak with herbed oil
  • Old fashioned onion rings
  • Chocolate fondants

For further information, please contact:

Natalie D’Amico               
Senior Account Manager
Tel: +27 11 548 2030      
E-mail: natalie.damico@fleishman.co.za

About Royal Philips Electronics

Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a diversified health and well-being company, focused on improving people’s lives through meaningful innovation in the areas of Healthcare, Consumer Lifestyle and Lighting. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips posted 2014 sales of EUR 21.4 billion and employs approximately 108,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. The company is a leader in cardiac care, acute care and home healthcare, energy efficient lighting solutions and new lighting applications, as well as male shaving and grooming and oral healthcare. News from Philips is located at www.philips.com/newscenter.

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