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June 20, 2017 By GOQii Editor 1 Comment

First ‘Walk with A Doc’ begins in Mumbai with a bang !

Dr Aashish Contractor addressing the walker at the WWAD India’s first walk at NCPA-Marin Drive

For sedentary people, getting off the couch and taking that first step is a huge task and often the hardest step. While doctors give detailed exercise prescriptions with heart rate guidelines seldom do patients adhere to doing the exercises and following a regular exercise regime.

As Dr Aashish Contarctor, head of Dept-Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine at Sir H.N. Reliance Foundation Hospital in his book-‘The Heart Truth’ says, “My initial advice to people who do nothing at present is to simply start doing something. This something could be a daily walk of 10 minutes. Ony 10 minutes? Many ask and I tell them that is enough to get started.”

Dr. Aashish takking about heart and how to check pulse

No wonder that Dr. Contractor took to the idea of the ‘Walk with A Doc’ program very easily and led the maiden walk on Sunday June 18, 2017 from NCPA at 7 am in the morning. The 40-minute-long walk started at 7 am from NCPA and covered a distance of 5 kms on NCPA-Marine Drive promenade and ended back at NCPA at 7.45 am. The walk saw a large turnout of people who are patients of Dr. Contractor including GOQii players.

Walkers along with Dr. Aashish, GOQii Team and Sir HN reliance Foundation hospital team

The walk began with Dr.Ashish taking the walkers through the basics of understanding the Heart and how to measure pulse rate. In all a little over 50-people attended the first walk. Dr Bipin Chandra Bhambre, Dr Jaini Patel, dr Chandan Poddar and Dr. Richa Nadkarni from Sir H N Reliance Foundation hospital along with Dr. Akshat Chadha – head of medical services at GOQii attended the walk as well. The walk ended with a summation by Dr. Contractor.

“It was wonderful to see the enthusiastic response of the patients, inspite of rainy weather. They enjoyed the walk and were interested in both learning and walking more,” said Dr. Contractor.

Dr. Akshat Chadha, from GOQii said, “The concept of Walk with A Doc is an excellent idea for making ‘Practice what you Preach’ genuine. As a Doctor I keep telling all my patients to get up and get moving but that doesn’t mean that they do it. Seeing the doctor walk alongside, gives the due importance to being physically active along with creating a bond with the patient by breaking the doctor-patient barrier.”

The idea of walking with a doctor is to encourage people to gove up the sedentary lifestyle and focus on healthy living. Ideally, walking may be the simplest wat to work out. You can do it almost anywhere, and it’s easy tos tart- just put one foot ahead of the other.

Most walkers present were over the age of 50 and found the initiative ‘Walk with A Doc’ a very encouraging concept and found walking with their doctor very comfortable. They felt that the whole walk was so different from the regular walks that they have attended in the past.

Rahul Nandkeolyar who was one of the walker had this to say, “Not having been much of a walker, I actually walked approx. 5 km in about 45-50 minutes. Felt good. Would have done better if my shoes had not given way. I am now going to walk regularly around my home.”

Another walker said, “I like this idea of walking with the doctor. I would like to get tips regarding walking to loose weight, the walker said pointing to his wearable watch. How should I pace myself?” said another walker who participated. Most walkers were very keen to get tips on walking.

WWAD program aims to reimagine healthcare between doctors and their communities. Initiatives like WWAD will have great significance in India where the people are at a high risk due to sedentary lifestyle and the doctor to patient ratio is lower than WHO recommendations. WWAD aims to bridge the gap between the doctor and the community to promote preventive healthcare.

Dr. Aashish with his and GOQii team after the walk

GOQii and WWAD have strategically come together to spread this movement across India. The first walk in 2005 in the US with Dr David Sabgir, whose brainchild is ‘Walk with A Doc saw 101 people showing up for the walk. After 10 years, there are 3011 WWAD chapters spread across 44 states in the US averaging 25 walkers per walk; which are done weekly/bi-weekly/monthly by doctors.

Walk with A Doc has already helped thousands commit to a healthy lifestyle in USA and we at GOQii along with WWAD wish to make this program help many Indians commit to a healthy lifestyle under the able guidance of doctors in India. In addition to being part of an extremely rewarding program and helping patients lead healthier lives, Walk with A Doc can help improve patient satisfaction and has helped position doctors as wellness leaders in their communities.

Benefits of Walking

Maintain a healthy weight.
Prevent or manage various conditions, including heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.
Strengthen your bones and muscles.
Improve your mood.
Improve your balance and coordination.
Improves Posture and reduces Belly fat

June 15, 2017 By GOQii Editor 11 Comments

Walk with a Doc – Reimagining Healthcare between doctors and their communities

Walking is considered one of the best and simplest forms of exercise which can be done by all. Patients with chronic ailments such as heart disease, diabetes, cholesterol, hypertension etc., are recommended to walk as a form of exercise daily. Keeping in line with this, GOQii, the Health and Lifestyle start-up is launching a 10-year-old international movement called ‘Walk with a Doc’ (WWAD), a unique physician-led walking program focusing on encouraging physical activity among patients.

Dr Aashish Contractor, widely recognised as the pioneer of cardiac rehabilitation is kick-starting the first edition of WWAD in Mumbai on June 18, 2017, from NCPA at 7 am. Apart from GOQii, Dr Contractor is also supported in this initiative by his hospital Sir H N Reliance Foundation Hospital where he is currently, the head of Department of Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine. He is also the author of the book ‘The Heart Truth’.

The 40-minute long walk will start at 7 am from NCPA and cover a distance of 5 KMs on Marine Drive and end at NCPA at 8 am. This walk will be followed by a summation by Dr Contractor.

Each local walk will be hosted by a doctor, in addition to the health benefits that everyone enjoys just by walking, the doctors also get a chance to talk their patients while they walk. The movement first started in the United States 10- years ago by Dr David Sabgir, a Mount Carmel Cardiologist from Ohio.

In the US Dr Sabgir started this movement based on his own learnings from observing patients in his clinic for over a decade. As a cardiologist, he thought he was doing everything he could to help his patients. He spent extra time during appointments, listening to their issues and giving advice on how to live a healthier life. But in his own words “In the end, I just wasn’t successful at encouraging them to get out there and get physically active.”

WWAD Standee

Heart disease is the number one killer in America and India is no different. Recently, in an interview with GOQii, Dr Contarctor says, “Heart Disease is the leading cause of death among men and women worldwide and even in India”. Both Dr Sabgir and Dr Contractor believe that 80% of cardiovascular disease is preventable with more exercise and simple lifestyle changes.

Yet, Sabgir found that only five percent of his patients were getting the recommended 150 minutes a week of moderate physical activity. He was frustrated, so one day he asked a few patients to meet him and his family in the park to take a walk. That was the first Walk in 2005 where 101 people showed up. After ten years, there are 301 WWAD chapters spread across 44 states in the USA averaging 25 walkers per walk; which are done weekly / bi-weekly/ monthly by doctors.

“We are ecstatic that you are starting Walk with a Doc in India. We have been thrilled and humbled to see WWAD transform hundreds of new communities in the United States. The opportunity to collaborate with the great physicians of India is a tremendous honour that we will never take for granted,” says Dr Sabgir.

Talking about kick-starting the first walk in Mumbai, India, Dr Contractor says, “I advise my patients to instil the habit of healthy living, however, very few get motivated on their own. WWAD is a good concept and removes that barrier and makes healthy living a routine and fun. Therefore, when GOQii & WWAD- India chapter approached me to host the first edition of WWAD, I agreed. I have been regularly walking and running with my patients, WWAD is a new platform to do the same. I hope that through this program we will be able to inculcate healthy living as part of daily routine of the people.”

From GOQii’s perspective, the health start-up has been advocating healthy living and preventive healthcare. “We felt that this collaboration will compliment us in our vision to create a healthier society. I am thankful to Dr Contractor who agreed to spearhead the first edition in India,” says Vishal Gondal, Founder and CEO, GOQii Technologies Inc.

Walk with a Doc has already helped thousands commit to a healthy lifestyle in the USA and today the movement has reached 6 countries and India being the 7^th.

June 9, 2017 By Dr Manali Rao Leave a Comment

Vaccination: Prevention is better than Cure!

All of us have seen Mr. Amitabh Bachchan saying ‘Do boondhZindagiki’, but very few of them would have realized the magnitude of importance of that advertisement. The fact that one of the most vivacious and accomplished Bollywood star is chosen as the brand ambassador for the campaign of immunization shows us the important role it plays in every child’s life.

What lead me to writing this blog?

Having a month old baby at home and finding myself pouring over the immunization schedule made me think that there are so many people unaware of the importance of vaccination.

The last week of April is the World Immunization Week. It is a global public health campaign to raise awareness and increase rates of immunization against vaccine-preventable diseases around the world.Each World Immunization Week focuses on a theme and this year it is “VACCINES WORK”.

So what is IMMUNIZATION?
It is the process by which an individual’s immune system becomes fortified against an agent (known as the immunogenic).

Immunization is done through various techniques, most commonly vaccination. Vaccines against microorganisms that cause diseases can prepare the body’s immune system, thus helping to fight or prevent an infection.

Immunization can protect against 25 different infectious agents or diseases, from infancy to old age, including diphtheria, measles, pertussis, polio and tetanus. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates active immunization currently averts 2 to 3 million deaths every year.

The WHO lists 25 diseases for which vaccines are available:

Anthrax
Measles
Rubella
Cholera
Meningococcal disease
Influenza
Diphtheria
Mumps
Tetanus
Hepatitis A
Pertussis
Tuberculosis
Hepatitis B
Pneumococcal disease
Typhoid fever
Hepatitis E
Poliomyelitis
Tick-borne encephalitis
Haemophilusinfluenza type b
Rabies
Varicella and herpes zoster (shingles)
Human papilloma-virus
Rotavirus gastroenteritis
Yellow fever
Japanese encephalitis
Malaria
Dengue fever

There are also some vaccine-preventable diseases, which are not on the WHO-list, probably either since the vaccine is not very good according to present standards, or the disease is not any longer a threat.

Anthrax
Plague
Q fever
Smallpox

IMMUNIZATiON SCHEDULE :

SL. NO.	AGE	VACCINE	DISEASE
1.	Birth	BCG + OPV	Tuberculosis + Polio
2.	1.5 months	DPT + OPV + IPV + HBV + HiB	Diphtheria Pertussis Tetanus Polio Hepatitis B H Influenza B
3.	2.5 months	DPT + OPV + IPV + HBV + HiB	Diphtheria Pertussis Tetanus Polio Hepatitis B H Influenza B
4.	3.5 months	DPT + OPV + IPV + HBV + HiB	Diphtheria Pertussis Tetanus Polio Hepatitis B H Influenza B
5.	9 months	Measles	Measles
6.	15 months	MMR	Measles Mumps Rubella
7.	18 months	DPT + OPV + IPV + 1st booster HiB	Diphtheria Pertussis Tetanus Polio
8.	4.5 – 5 years	DPT + 2nd booster OPV	Diphtheria Pertussis Tetanus Polio
9.	10 years	Tdap/ Td	Diphtheria Pertussis Tetanus

VACCINES UNDER SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES;

SL. NO.	AGE	VACCINE	DISEASE
1.	2 years Booster dose to be given every 2-5 years	Meningococcal	Meningitis
2.	< 9 years : 2 doses to be given every year. > 9 years – 1 dose to be given every year	Influenza	Flu
3.	0,3,7,14,28 days	Rabies	Rabies

SIGNIFICANCE:

Vaccination protects children from serious illness and complications of vaccine-preventable diseases which can include amputation of an arm or leg, paralysis of limbs, hearing loss, convulsions, brain damage, and death.

Elimination of polio in India:

Polio was last reported in India in West Bengal and Gujarat on 13th January, 2011.

On 27th March 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared India a polio free country, since no cases of wild polio had been reported in for three years.

As of mid-2016, only Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan have wild polio cases.

The Pulse Polio Initiative (PPI) aims at covering every individual in the country. It aspires to reach even children in remote communities through an improved social mobilisation plan.

No child should miss the immunization.
Cases of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) are to be reported in time and stool specimens have to be collected within 14 days.
Outbreak response immunization (ORI) should be conducted as early as possible.
Maintaining a high level of surveillance.
Performance of good mop-up operations where polio has disappeared.

ADULT IMMUNIZATION:

Even adults need to be immunized from time to time. It is recommended for adults who meet the age requirement, lack documentation of previous vaccination or lack of evidence of previous infection. Also older adults with medical conditions like Diabetes need to be immunized as recommended by their Doctor.

IMMUNIZATION AGAINST CERVICAL CANCER:

> 10 years females

0 dose

After 1 month

After 6 months

Protects against HPV (HUMAN PAPILLOMA VIRUS) which causes cervical cancer.

Immunization is one of the safest ways for you to protect your health. Vaccine side effects are usually mild and go away on their own. Severe side effects are rare.

Regular immunization of your child will prevent many serious diseases. Follow the schedule and the advice of your child’s Pediatrician. Minor illnesses are not a contraindication to vaccination. Report any adverse events following immunization.

June 2, 2017 By Anusha Subramanian Leave a Comment

‘Finding Your Everest with Kuntal Joisher’

“Mountain Climbing is my life and Veganism defines me. However, Veganism supersedes Everest”, says Kuntal Joisher in a conversation with Vishal Gondal on his newly launched podcast ‘Vishal Gondal Show’- Beneath the Force.

From quitting his plush MNC IT job, reducing from 110 kg to 80 kgs to climbing some of the toughest mountains in just a span of 8 years, Kuntal, a Gujarati from Ghatkopar (a Mumbai suburb) stood on top of the world on May 19^th, 2016 at 9:30 am as the first vegan.

Prior to Kuntal, there have been many non-vegetarians and vegetarians who have summited the highest peak in the world, but when Kuntal started his journey to scale the Everest it was unheard of that a vegan could climb as well. It was a natural scepticism as most climbers and especially those climbing 8000 meters peak are recommended meat and dairy rich foods. For a Vegan being on plant-based foods requires that much more hard training than a traditional climber it was concluded.

However, Kuntal has dispelled all myths. With no altitude sickness and fit throughout his 60 days climb, he has shown and inspired the world that mountaineering can be done on healthy wholefoods vegan diet. For Kuntal its ethical reasons to be Vegan and not any health reasons to go Vegan. He says that Vegan food is not bad as everyone things. “Nor am I an extreme Vegan,” he says. But, he is so much of a Vegan that his Mountaineering Gear is 80% Vegan as well.

“My diet has never been an issue. I’ve been part of over ten serious Himalayan climbing expeditions, and I’ve never had any problems being a vegan, even on this last attempt to climb Everest,” says Kuntal.

Kuntal in his in-depth conversation on‘Beneath the Force’ show talked about everything from his life, to his profession to how he decided to climb mountains and about a few life hacks that he uses to help himself.

Before climbing Everest, he scaled many incredible mountains in India and Nepal. Just to names some important ones he has climbed Mt Elbrus in Russia (one of the peaks of the Seven Summits) and Mt Manaslu, another 8000 mt peak in Nepal and is the 8^th highest peak in the world. Kuntal is the only second Indian civilian after Arjun Vajpai to have scaled Manaslu.

On his achievement in Mountaineering and conquering Everest the third time around Kuntal says, “I have conquered my fear of height. Before climbing Everest I actually had the fear of heights.” “If you win in your mind, you win over your fears”.

According to Kuntal, mountaineering is a combination of training and experience. One cannot leave anything to luck. One has to push themselves physically to get that mental edge. He admits and says, “While mountaineering is a risky sport and that I do take risks by climbing mountains but, I would in the same breath say that I am a very risk averse climber. In my 8 years of climbing career, I have trained so much and also gained considerable experience to be able to understand what is going wrong and take the right decisions”. He says, ‘getting up on a mountain is optional but climbing down alive is mandatory”. Most climbers get up and then become complacent. Most accidents in the mountains take place while climbing down.

But, training for Everest was not easy. Kuntal emotionally detached himself from his family to be able to focus on his goal.

When asked both being vegan and being a mountaineer are two extreme things and isn’t it like being insane. To this Kuntalchuckles and replies, “Not at all. However, he adds, “I get my insanity from my dad. But, unfortunately, today, my dad cannot understand any of these insane things I do as he suffers from Dementia (LBD) for the last 15 years. Kuntal is working towards creating awareness about this disease in his own ways by climbing mountains. Kuntal says his dad also did some crazy things and went out of his way to do new things. His father used to farm earthworms.

One of Kuntal’s life hacks that helped him survive on his way up to Everest was ‘Oreo’ biscuits. Whoever knew that Oreo that people hog on is a vegan biscuit? Once at a high altitude above 26000 ft beyond the death zone and from camp 3 to camp 4 to summit and back to camp 2, Joisher ate only two Oreo biscuits he says. Towards, the summit, Joisher had Unived’s vegan energy gels. These gels contain electrolytes and carbohydrates that are instantly released into the blood. “They kept me going,” saysKuntal.

Some of the clear learning from this interview which all of us can take with us –

Be focused towards your goal
Prioritise what is more important for you. Select a few things to do and give your 500% to it.
Training and Experience are very important for climbing and leave nothing to chance.

About the Vishal Gondal Show-Beneath the Force

The show encapsulates the lives of successful and inspirational people. The in-depth profile is the show staple — a nuanced look at a personality on a bi-monthly basis, revealing the person’s workout regimen, their struggles, their habits, thoughts on their latest project and, if we’re lucky, some as yet unrevealed factoid to file away in our collective unconscious. Whether we want to be like them, be with them, or just find out what it feels like to try on a different persona for a while, ‘beneath the force ‘we’ll always be drawn to Q&As about other people’s lives.If you want to get your fix of stories about fascinating lives but tired of staring at screens or loathe the paper pileup of discarded monthlies, listen to this podcast.

Listen to Episode 1 – Find your Everest with KuntalJoisher by The Vishal Gondal Show – #BeneathTheForce #np on #SoundCloud

https://soundcloud.com/vishal-gondal-show-beneaththeforce/vgs-episode-1-find-your-everest-with-kuntal-joisher

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ2Sm2lDodg&utm_source=GOQii-Youtube&utm_medium=SMM&utm_campaign=GOQii-Youtube-Podcast-Kuntal-Joisher&utm_term=Podcast&utm_content=Kuntal-Joisher

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hoiv9nMCF4

First ‘Walk with A Doc’ begins in Mumbai with a bang !

Walk with a Doc – Reimagining Healthcare between doctors and their communities

Vaccination: Prevention is better than Cure!

‘Finding Your Everest with Kuntal Joisher’

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