Kuala Lumpur, 30 June 2018 – With the goal of making healthy living more accessible, AIA Bhd. (AIA) in partnership with Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) today launched the first-ever Laman Cergas AIA Vitality – a specially-designed outdoor gym at the popular Taman Metropolitan Kepong, with the purpose of encouraging Malaysians to be more active and overcome a sedentary lifestyle.
In a recent study, it was found that Malaysia was one of the least physically active countries in the world, with over 60% of adults contented to be desk-bound with little or no intention to exercise. 54% of Malaysians also divulged that committing to an exercise regime required too much effort, while 78% cited that it took a lot of time
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These factors accumulate as the National Health and Morbidity Survey2 also states that over the past 30 years, the rates of physical activity amongst Malaysians have dwindled, with the numbers for Type 2 diabetes rising by four-fold and obesity by 280%.
Chief Executive Officer of AIA Bhd., Anusha Thavarajah said: “Over the past decade, we have seen the alarming rise of diabetes and obesity rates in the country, which has spurred our mission to advocate a healthier lifestyle for all Malaysians. Our big idea with the launch of Laman Cergas AIA Vitality today is to encourage Malaysians to commit to a heathy living through physical activities, starting with the community within Taman Metropolitan Kepong. In the long run, we hope to inspire more Malaysians to get up, move about, and get healthy.”
According to the AIA Healthy Living Index 2018, Malaysians’ overall satisfaction on health has increased from 79% in 2016, to 82% in 2018. This increase is a genuine sign that Malaysians are keen to make a difference, and are becoming increasingly health conscious, as the AIA Healthy Living Index also shows that they are spending a minimum of 3.5 hours a week to exercise, as opposed to 2.6 hours two years ago.
The survey also discovered that more than half of the Malaysian respondents stopped exercising because they felt it required too much effort. 78% of Malaysians shared that finding time to exercise was one of the biggest barriers in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
The motivation for Laman Cergas AIA Vitality was borne with the intention to make wellness more accessible to Malaysians and be the solution to barriers such as time and availability. AIA has worked together with Fitness First to select exercise machines to form a circuit training course that works out the entire body and is specially designed for all levels of fitness, thus making it suitable for the general public. Each machine comes with a QR code, which directly links the user with a video on how to properly use it.
Taman Metropolitan Kepong is 95-hectares large and frequented by individuals from all walks of life including fitness enthusiasts, families and even avid bicyclists. The addition of Laman Cergas AIA Vitality to the park means that patrons now have an extra outlet to engage in exercises that work out the entire body.
“We launched AIA Vitality in 2016 as part of our efforts to take proactive steps to introduce a one of a kind insurance and health programme. Through this programme, we wanted to empower Malaysians to improve their health by actively supporting and rewarding their healthy choices. Laman Cergas AIA Vitality extends our mission by providing a convenient, well-equipped and safe environment for the public to exercise in so it made perfect sense for us to embark on this project.” Anusha continued.
Having started their journey in Malaysia since 1948, AIA continues to be one of the leading insurers that provide Life, Health, Takaful and General Insurance solutions for customers. In their efforts to evolve with the times and understand the evolving needs of their customer, AIA challenges itself to go beyond the role of a traditional insurance company to become a health influencing mobiliser.
“As AIA celebrates its legacy of 70 years in Malaysia this year, we reflect on a long and rewarding journey that has given us the opportunity to be an integral part of Malaysians lives. We are honoured to be able to continuously give back to the communities that we serve over the past seven decades. Rest assured we continue to remain committed to helping Malaysians live healthier, longer and better lives through engaging initiatives that encourage holistic and healthy lifestyles for many years to come.” concluded Anusha.
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About AIA Bhd.
AIA Bhd. is a leading insurer in Malaysia, where we have been privileged to do business since 1948. We offer a suite of financial solutions including Protection, Health, Personal Accident, Employee Benefits, General Insurance, Mortgage, Retirement and Family Takaful products to meet our customers’ protection and financial security needs at every life stage. Through our wide and diverse distribution footprint which comprises a 14,000 strong Life Planner force, our exclusive bank partner’s branches nationwide as well as corporate sales teams and brokers, we give our customers the choice of deciding how, when and where they connect with us.
Part of the AIA Group, the largest independent publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance group, AIA Bhd. has the financial strength, experience, service centre network and a well-trained team of more than 2,000 staff to serve our 3 million customers nationwide. As at 30 November 2017, AIA Bhd.’s total asset worth was RM51 billion, with a paid-up capital of RM1,451 million.
About AIA
AIA Group Limited and its subsidiaries (collectively “AIA” or the “Group”) comprise the largest independent publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance group. It has a presence in 18 markets in Asia-Pacific – wholly-owned branches and subsidiaries in Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam, New Zealand, Macau, Brunei, Cambodia, a 97 per cent subsidiary in Sri Lanka, a 49 per cent joint venture in India and a representative office in Myanmar.
The business that is now AIA was first established in Shanghai almost a century ago. It is a market leader in the Asia-Pacific region (ex-Japan) based on life insurance premiums and holds leading positions across the majority of its markets. It had total assets of US$216 billion as of 30 November 2017.
AIA meets the long-term savings and protection needs of individuals by offering a range of products and services including life insurance, accident and health insurance and savings plans. The Group also provides employee benefits, credit life and pension services to corporate clients. Through an extensive network of agents, partners and employees across Asia-Pacific, AIA serves the holders of more than 30 million individual policies and over 16 million participating members of group insurance schemes.
AIA Group Limited is listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited under the stock code “1299” with American Depositary Receipts (Level 1) traded on the over-the-counter market (ticker symbol: “AAGIY”).
