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In conjunction with World Heart Month, 25,946 Malaysians successfully achieved a total of 1,483,300 miles by walking virtually together. With the achievement of this milestone, NESTLÉ OMEGA PLUS fulfilled its pledge to donate RM100,000 to Yayasan Jantung Malaysia (YJM) and Institut Jantung Negara (IJN) Foundation.
NESTLÉ OMEGA PLUS has been a strong advocate for heart health since 2000 and has been championing the importance of a healthy heart and the factors affecting it, including high cholesterol. Heart diseases, which affect more than 8 million or 40% of Malaysian adults, is one of the leading causes of death in Malaysia. High cholesterol is a major risk factor of this leading cause of death, especially amongst those above the age of 40[1]. However, not many are aware of their cholesterol levels due to lack of diagnosis and education on the impact of high cholesterol.
With the theme of ‘Langkah Bersama, Jantung Dijaga’, NESTLÉ OMEGA PLUS partners with YJM and IJN Foundation for the third consecutive year to show its long-term commitment in educating Malaysians about heart health, the importance of an active lifestyle and to support heart patients in need.
“With the Walk a Million Miles (WAMM) program we have encouraged many Malaysians to adopt a healthier lifestyle and take better care of their heart health. This year’s edition has seen the highest participation yet. And these fellow Malaysians have also walked more! We have seen an increase of 65% in the number of participants reaching at least 150k steps, we are very grateful for their enthusiastic involvement and, once again, we have been very proud to partner with IJN and YJM to support their efforts taking care of heart health patients through our cash contributions” said Juan Aranols, CEO Nestlè (Malaysia) Berhad.
“Looking at the alarming numbers of heart disease patients in Malaysia, it is crucial for us to ramp up heart health awareness among Malaysians. A lifestyle change must start with something as simple as walking regularly and consistently, and increasing distance and pace little by little, step by step. Change in Malaysia will not be seen overnight but over the past years, we have seen a positive trend and it is a very encouraging progress for the nation,” said Dato’ Dr Aljafri of YJM.
“It is heartwarming to see how Malaysians unite every September to join in the fun initiative of Walk a Million Miles and take care of their heart. I’ve seen families walking together for the cause and it is great to know that more people and of all ages feel encouraged to walk more thanks to WAMM. We thank Malaysians and NESTLÉ OMEGA PLUS for making this happen,” said Toh Puan Dato’ Seri Hajjah Dr. Aishah Ong of IJN Foundation.
Aida, one of the participants who joined WAMM at KL Car Free Morning shared, “I look forward to joining WAMM every year and having my family join me, and as someone who frequents KL Car Free morning, it gives more reason for my family and I to participate and join in the fun. My spouse and I will walk while our children cycle and ride on their scooters. This is a great initiative, and it is great that I can get my family to play a part in contributing to heart patients in need.”
NESTLÉ OMEGA PLUS hopes that Walk a Million Miles will continue to kickstart the habit of walking among Malaysians and strongly encourage everyone to make a conscious effort to care for their heart in the long run. Change starts from you and every step counts to build a healthy nation.