Halloween, when having cobwebs on your ceiling isn’t a sin. I’m always on the lookout for good marketing ideas, especially those that address social issues and help people live better lives. A few weeks ago I received a heads up about a campaign which addresses the concerns of one in three Australians. It also fits with The Ponder Room’s goal of helping readers get the most out of life.
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| Thanks to Johnson Cameraface |
With Halloween now upon us, many households are putting the final touches to their party preparations and costumes. Plastic spiders are being hung from the ceiling, chocolate fondant moulded into cockroaches and dry ice added to the punch. Adults and children don skeleton suits and wiggle their skinny boned frames as Thrillerplays over and over on the iPod. Fast forward a few years and some of your guests could be telling a very different story.
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| Thanks to Redbanshee |
According to Osteoporosis Australia, one in three Australians suffer from poor bone health, and osteoporosis is one of our country’s silent killers.
Put it another way, over 1.2 million Australians have osteoporosis, and a further 6.3 million have osteopenia, or low bone density, which increases risk of the disease in the future.
It’s a condition that can affect anyone at any age, but is also highly preventable through a few key healthy lifestyle measures. So what does Osteoporosis do?
Their task is to inspire people to think about the health of their bones. What would you do?
The solution came through their Healthy Bones Australia initiative and a SCREAM for Halloween campaign. The main premise of the campaign is that they were ‘screaming out to Australians to consider their bone health in October’.
Cute hey?
The campaign enlisted celebrity ambassadors, dietician Susie Burrell and Olympian and media personality Elka Whalan, to give advice for healthy bones at any age.
I thought this was a really clever hook up and one that deserved promoting. So I’m joining in the SCREAM for Halloween. Below are three tips from Elka. Tomorrow I’ll post the Susie Burrell’s ideas where she looked at bone health for children, teens and adults.
Three Bone Health Tips from Elka Whalan
‘Our bones are a living tissue which, like muscles, need exercise to become stronger. Regular exercising not only helps to develop maximum bone density and strength, but maintain coordination and balance, which reduces the likelihood of falls and bone-related fractures. While most forms of exercise are associated with benefit, there are specific types that are best for your bones,’ explained Elka.
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| Elka Whalan |
Engage in weight-bearing, muscle strengthening exercises.
‘The best kinds of exercise for building stronger bones are the weight-bearing kind. This doesn’t mean you always have to use weights- it refers to exercises which force you to work against gravity. Some good examples are swimming, brisk walking or hiking, jogging, climbing the stairs, or tennis.’
Get on your feet and use your body
‘The simplest way to inject some weight-bearing exercise into your everyday routine is to choose activities that make you get up on your feet. Take a brisk walk at lunchtime rather than sitting at your desk, and if you’re at the gym, hop on the treadmill instead of the exercise bike. If getting to the gym is too hard, use your own body weight as resistance when you train – easy exercises that you can do anywhere like push ups and tricep dips are great resistance training that your bones will thank you for.’
Mix it up
‘Exercise doesn’t have to feel like a chore – throw dance classes into the mix. Dancing is high impact and high energy, so great for building strong bones, not to mention killer legs! Dance also works to improve your posture and balance, which is great because one of the biggest risks for those with low bone density is the risk of a fracture brought about by falling. To minimize this, make balancing exercises a priority! Load up your squats and try one-legged squats to improve your balance – they can even be done around the house.’
Stay tuned for the tips from dietician Susie Burrell
