Health Bulletin

LIME staff slim down in 'Biggest Winner' challenge

Employees at telecoms company, LIME, are being challenged to slim down for a chance to win big in the company's 'Biggest Winner' colleague weight-loss programme that was launched last week.

Over the next two months, staff members have been invited to set fitness goals and aggressively pursue them for an opportunity to take home major prizes. The challenge is open to all 1,200 LIME employees across the island and promises weekly prizes for 'losers' who meet their fitness goals.

Each Monday morning colleagues will be required to 'weigh in' and assessments will be carried out to track individual milestone and determine weekly winners. The 'challengers' will also participate in exercise boot camps while being advised by a nutritionist on how to eat in order to boost their fitness levels.

Some of the prizes earmarked include a complimentary weekend for two at a luxury all-inclusive resort, tablet computers, smartphones and makeovers, among other items.

Exercise helps lower breast cancer risk

Exercise appears to change the way women's bodies metabolise the hormone oestrogen, and this could help explain how aerobic activity reduces a woman's breast cancer risk, a new study suggests.

Previous research has suggested that exercise lowers breast cancer risk, but there haven't been any clinical studies that explain the mechanism behind this, said Mindy Kurzer, a professor in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Minnesota in the United States.

"Ours is the first study to show that aerobic exercise influences the way our bodies break down oestrogens to produce more of the 'good' metabolites that lower breast cancer risk," she said.

The study included nearly 400 healthy, but inactive young women who were divided into two groups. All were premenopausal, meaning their bodies still produced the hormone oestrogen.

One group remained inactive while the other group did 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic exercise five times a week for 16 weeks. For their workouts, they used equipment such as treadmills, stair steppers and elliptical machines.

Before and after those 16 weeks, the researchers collected urine samples from women in both groups. At the end of the study, the women in the exercise group had higher levels of the oestrogen metabolites that reduce breast cancer risk.

Kurzer is currently conducting similar studies in women at high risk for breast cancer.

- HealthDay News

$23.5 million spent on Bellevue Hospital

A total of $23.5 million has been spent to develop the Dietetics and Nutrition Department and the Dental Health Unit at the Bellevue Hospital in Kingston.

Minister of Health Dr Fenton Ferguson said the hospital now boasts a state-of-the-art facility with a highly motivated team that is ready to provide an excellent standard of service to patients.

The work included waterproofing of the roof, complete electrical rewiring, repiping of water lines, reconfiguration of the steam system, tiling of wall and floors, painting, rodent- and insect-proofing, and construction of garbage disposal and chemical areas. In addition, there was repair of all major equipment, including steam kettles, stoves, fryers, cold storage and chilling systems and extractor systems. A few pieces of new equipment were also purchased.

The Bellevue Hospital houses approximately 800 patients and provides a range of clinical services, including inpatient care for acute, sub-acute and long-stay persons, emergency service and internist medical and HIV clinics.

Full Caption: Chief executive officer of the Bellevue Hospital, David Dobson (right),
shows Minister of Health Dr Fenton Ferguson (centre) and chairman of the
board of the Bellevue Hospital, Dr Winston de la Haye, one of two
dental chairs in the new Dental Unit at the hospital. The unit is
expected to be fully operational on June 1 when a full-time dentist will
begin working at the facility. - Contributed