19 November 2007

59-year old woman is Slim Queen

A 59-year old woman recently won the Slim Queen Calorie Competition against 23 other female fitness enthusiasts at the Tawam Hospital-John Hopkins Medicine Recreation Centre.

An Assistant Nurse at Jahli Clinic at day, Warda Helal Rabadi, swims, walks and runs at night (or vice-versa, if her duty turns out to be in the afternoons or in the evenings). “Since this centre opened seven years ago, I have started going to the gym. I always like to walk. I used to walk in a field before in Jordan because our village was so far and there were no cars. Walking then became a habit; it is nothing new,” said Rabadi.

“When I went here, I continued walking even though it is only around our accommodation or in some areas in the city. Whenever I walk, I am always happy, and I can make other people happy too.”

With no children of her own, Rabadi spends her vacant time swimming for two hours, walking for an hour and running for 50 minutes. She also read religious books – with no reading glasses at all.

Her prize in winning the 4,500-calorie competition was just the tip of the iceberg for her. “I like to win. Everybody likes to win. But what I like most is the company of the other people, being able to talk to them, being with them,” added Rabadi, who also bagged the first place during the Walk-For-A-Cause, a breast cancer awareness campaign of the Tawam Hospital held last year.

Weighing only 50 kilos, Rabadi also reaps health benefits from not sitting in the sofa and sulking at home all day like some would do at her age. “I did not have a major illness since 1987 when I had a disc. After 17 days that I were in the hospital, I resumed walking and just refrained myself from lifting heavy things. Now, I am not even taking Panadol for my back; I do not need to. Indeed, walking regularly has helped me.”

“If I keep saying that I am old enough, I will then just be sitting, doing nothing. But when I started running, I feel like I am not nearly 60 years old. Instead, I feel like I am only 16. So I advised other old people to just try. Try to walk, try to swim. It has nothing to do with age. Do not say no, but try.”

Health Watch: Swinging to the rhythm

As pieces of equipment for exercise are getting more technological savvy and fitness centres are mushrooming around the corner, dance instructor Tess Divina decided to teach her students the most convenient and effective way to lose weight and boost their self-esteem: dancing.

“I volunteered to teach a dance club here. I want to share with everyone what I have learned when I joined the Philippine Dance Club here in Al Ain and ballroom dance classes in Dubai. My target is also to lose weight and to share to everyone what I have learned,” said Divina, who is also working as a Secretary for Quality Management at Tawam Hospital-John Hopkins Medicine. She is currently teaching swing to some 17 ladies also working at the hospital.

“There are a lot of benefits: You will be moving a lot, you will be doing more than you would when exercising with a machine, and you will be meeting a lot of people. Some of the participants may not really know the steps. But when they hear the music and they see people dancing, they are encouraged to dance,” she added.

Researches prove that aside from the social benefits dancing offers, it also has health advantages. One half hour of continuous dancing can burn as many as 400 calories, and it could enhance blood flow to your limbs and organs, lower your heart rate and blood pressure, intensify stamina and flexibility, increase bone mass, maintain proper posture and body alignment, aid in waste removal in the brain, improves neuro-muscular coordination, and reduce the risk of dementia in the later years of life.

Dancing can also keep kids physically fit, develop their talent, enhance creativity and appreciation of the arts and build self-confidence. Since it requires a lot of movement, children can learn to be graceful and well coordinated with the music helping their minds relax. It can also assist children to understand different histories for every culture has its own dance.

Even cancer patients can gain from dancing. Through the Dance Movement Therapy, the anxiety and stress they feel will be lessened, their moods will be uplifted, and their sense of hope, ease, strength and social support will be strengthened.