Bupa and the World Heart Federation are launching a new global partnership to get the world walking. Photograph: Bupa
Cardiovascular disease (CVD), which includes heart disease and stroke, is one of the toughest challenges in healthcare. Globally, more people die from CVD than from any other cause. In 2008, CVD claimed 17.3 million lives and by 2030, it is expected that number will increase to over 23 million.
Yet a large proportion of illness and death from CVD could be prevented if people around the world were able to better manage simple lifestyle risk factors by, for example, not smoking, eating well and, importantly, doing more physical activity.
That's why Bupa and the World Heart Federation are launching a new global partnership to get the world walking. Walking is the most accessible form of physical activity: it's free, most people can do it, it can be easily incorporated into a daily routine and it's clinically proven that it can improve a person's heart health.
"Walking is a great way to stay fit and healthy! I'm so excited we're partnering with the World Heart Federation to get the world walking to a healthy heart and help people around the world live longer, healthier, happier lives," says Stuart Fletcher, CEO of Bupa.
To mark World Heart Day, Bupa and the World Heart Federation announced a global walking challenge, called Ground Miles[1] , to get people around the world to walk to reduce their risk of heart disease and stroke. The global target is to walk five million miles (eight million kilometres). Bupa and the World Heart Federation are urging people to download, for free, a new Ground Miles app to spur them on and measure the distance they walk.
Johanna Ralston, CEO of the World Heart Federation, said: "We're proud to be launching the Ground Miles Challenge with Bupa. With our member organisations around the world, we are committed to addressing one of the leading preventable risk factors for cardiovascular disease, physical inactivity, by encouraging people to walk. At the World Heart Federation, we believe that your feet can carry your heart far in life."
Ground Miles is a free, personalised motivational walking app that tracks when and how far the user walks. Using the individual's own real time data, the app allows for personalised goal setting and uses motivation techniques to promote increased walking. It is also social - it allows you to create virtual walking groups of friends, family or work colleagues anywhere in the world.
The Ground Miles app focuses on wellbeing, and has been designed with behavioural change expertise from the ground up, focusing on the needs of those of us who want to be more physically active. It features real time location maps on the app, showing where to walk to complete your daily target; it requires virtually no data input; you can personalise your experience by uploading your own background photos from your favourite walk locations; capture your distance in either kilometres or miles; and the app doesn't need to be directly open to work and battery use is minimal.
To help motivate people to walk more, holidays can be won throughout the Ground Miles Challenge. Those using the Ground Miles app who walk briskly for 150 minutes or more a week using the app, and meet the eligibility requirements, can go in the draw to win.
Bupa's 62,000 employees and the World Heart Federation's 200+ member organisations, from across the world, are ramping up their walking with friends, family, colleagues and communities to help reach the challenge target.
Dr Paul Zollinger-Read, chief medical officer, Bupa, said: "Walking briskly, for at least 150 minutes a week, can do wonders for your health – it can reduce a person's risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, certain types of cancer and even mental health problems. Go for it – join in!"
When the five million mile mark is reached, Bupa will provide funding to the World Heart Federation which will be used to support programmes that protect thousands of children from heart failure and early death, as a result of Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD).
Get involved
To celebrate World Heart Day and the launch of Ground Miles[2] , we'd love to hear why you #lovewalking! Share your photos, comments and tweets, and we'll post our favourite replies all together here on our Partner Zone.
Leave your ideas in the comments section below or tweet to us @Bupa[3] using #lovewalking.
Download the free Ground Miles app via groundmiles.bupa.com[4] or alternatively search for 'Ground Miles' in your Apple or Android app store. You can also follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/GroundMilesApp[5] .
Copy on this page is provided by Bupa , supporter of the health and wellbeing hub [6] [7]
References
- ^ Ground Miles (groundmiles.bupa.com)
- ^ Ground Miles (groundmiles.bupa.com)
- ^ @Bupa (twitter.com)
- ^ groundmiles.bupa.com (groundmiles.bupa.com)
- ^ facebook.com/GroundMilesApp (www.facebook.com)
- ^ Bupa (www.bupa.com)
- ^ health and wellbeing hub (www.guardian.co.uk)
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