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Staying Active @ 与“众”同跃，身心康泰 By Perrin Liaw Chai Wui (Malaysia) 文:廖采薇(马来西亚) Physical activity is essential for good health. In fact, physical inactivity is one of the leading risk factors for death worldwide, as well as for non- communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes. Workplaces around the world can do their part in helping their staff improve their health by encouraging increased physical activity, which will lead to a reduction of absenteeism due to sickness and an increase in productivity. This was why the “Activ@Work” Challenge was created by PERKESO, a government agency under the Malaysian Ministry of Human Resources that oversees the providing of social security protections to all workers in Malaysia. Launched in partnership with BookDoc, Malaysia’s first online healthcare platform that connects patients with medical care professionals, the Popular Malaysia’s staff make every step count as they maintain a healthy lifestyle to help POPULAR stay active! 马来西亚大众同仁一步 一脚印，活跃“大众” 的健康生活。 challenge uses the concept of being active while collecting rewards to encourage employers to help their staff stay active, even when working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Staying Active and Healthy During the Pandemic Led by the Human Resources Department’s Training & Development team, Popular Malaysia enrolled in the three-month challenge from 1 July 2021 through to 30 September 2021, to encourage our staff to maintain healthy lifestyles, especially during the lockdown period. Participation was a breeze for our staff, as all they had to do was to use the designated app on their mobile devices to monitor their daily activities. Every step that our staff took would be converted into points that would go into Popular Malaysia’s tally. 20 - popularnews 139