NU12 #8 “Walk for a Cause”- by Ed Vargas

From: Ed Vargas <ed_vargas08@yahoo.com.ph>
Date: Thu, Nov 28, 2013 at 6:48 PM
Subject: NU12 #8 "Walk for a Cause"- Our health

NU12 #8 "Walk for a Cause"- Our health

By Ed Vargas

Filipinos nowadays especially in the urban centers are becoming obese or overweight. No thanks to the advancement in technology where practically all our human activities are done as conveniently as possible. For instance, before if you want to switch channel while watching TV, you'll have to stand to turn the knob; now you just click button of your remote or lately in some TVs you just gesture and voila! Channel is switch. In offices and commercial establishments you have the escalators or the lift such that even you're just going to the 2^nd floor, you take them instead of the stairs. In fact in some airports, you have the walkalator. I remember the movie Wall-E wherein the human race has become an obese race since practically all human activities are automated and menial jobs are performed by robots while all the people are practically just sitting down and lying down.

I proposed that companies adopt a policy where employees are forced to walk which is the simplest form of exercise and yet very effective.

(1) Locate all parking areas at least 500 meters from the office buildings and in the case of basement parking, no elevator from the basement – take the stairs. In the case of multi-level basement parking, the following rules will also apply.

(2) No elevator stop on 2^nd floor. There will be separate elevators to serve odd and even floors. For odd floors, elevators stop only on 4^th floor, 8^th floor, 12^th and so forth and so on and for even floors, elevators stop on 3^rd, 5^th, 9^th and so on. If your office is between the floors served by the elevators-take the stairs, either going up or down. Under this set up the employees take a minimum of one flight of stairs in going to their office. Employee can't cheat since their company IDs will be installed with RFIDs such that if you take the elevator not designated to your office floors it will sound an alarm and not close until you get out. This could be embarrassing so don't even try. 3.5