QF’s role in honing skills hailed on Leadership Day Doha: Qatar celebrated yesterday the World Leadership Day as an annual,
international event to inspire, connect and transform leadership thinking and development across generations, gender and cultures.

On the occasion, Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF)’s Doha Debates held an event attended by HE the Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage Dr Hamad Abdul Aziz al-Kuwari and a number of other dignitaries.

The event, held at the Education City, was aimed at marking the day and upgrading the level of open discussion and debate among students and young people in Qatar and elsewhere in the region.
Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Debates Dr Hayat Maarafih, in her speech, noted that Qatar Foundation is an appropriate place for building high-skilled leadership not only on the local level but also on the international level.

Qatar was the first country to celebrate the WLD in the Middle East

Within my first month I had been invited to become a regular addition to the Thursday evening women’s get together at the home of the Mother of one of my contacts, and I am now treated just as one of the family. They invited me to the wedding of one of the girls and that was the most colourful and again, welcoming experience I have had - I need to write an account of this alone.

We have been invited to fishing trips, meals to meet family and my husband has even been measured for a traditional ‘Thobe’ to be worn when we go to his friend’s house for the Eid celebration.

One Arabic business women I know explained that in Britain we have to get to know someone for a long time before inviting them to our homes, but here it is completely the reverse situation.

I am enjoying exploring the difference - but my waistline is struggling to deal with all the wonderful food!

It’s been fantastic!   I have to say that I was missing the buzz of corporate life, and the opportunity to work with talented colleagues sharing the same interests.  Working as part of a larger organisation has meant that I am back working with large corporates again, and this is something I missed as lone consultant.

The company is expanding and new opportunities are presenting themselves the whole time. 

Thanks for reading.

Well I am just finishing my first week with my new friend the ‘fitbug’

I can see why it becomes addictive! I regularly check how many steps it takes me to go down stairs to switch on the PC and don’t moan when I’ve forgotten something and have to go down again!

Then it’s the daily online tracking of activity and nutrition intake.

For those who have ‘techie tendencies’ it’s a great way to motivate yourself.

All I have to do now is what to see what targets my ‘bug’ will set me for week 2

More anon

Our latest interview is with David Walters of ‘Help Me Overcome’
David Walters specialises in protecting key personnel from burnout by teaching them how to become resilient to workplace stress. This minimises claims made by employees on health and safety grounds and reduces your legal liability.

David also helps employees quickly recover from the effects of trauma or extreme workplace stress to get them back to productive work.

In this interview David shares tips on how to spot the indicators of stress which are different for men and women. He also gives us some techniques for dealing with stress if it hits us.

David is also champion of a technique which is helping war veterans to overcome the condition known as PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). The campaign ‘After The Falklands’ is aiming to raise £1,000,000 to help veterans suffering from this condition.
Go to the website for further information
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You can contact David via email: david@helpmeovercome.com or visit his website www.helpmeovercome.com

The cost of obesity in the workplace runs to billions of pounds every year.

Excess weight and unsuccessful dieting lead to:
· Reduced Energy
· Stress
· Reduction in self-esteem
· Poor communication skills
· Sickness.

All of the above result in lost productivity. HR Today Review estimated that work related illnesses cost UK businesses in excess of £5 Million every hour. A report by the Controller and Auditor General of the House of Commons in February 2001 stated: 18 million sick days are being lost owing to weight related health issues.

Fat costs the UK economy £2.6 billion a year in terms of lost productivity.
The NICE report of June 2005 urged UK firms to take steps to tackle weight issues at work.

However, health and wellbeing at work is not just about obesity, smoking cessation or stress, even if these are significant wellbeing issues.

More and more organisations are seeing that wellness in it’s broader sense can make a significant contribution to the success of the business, with measurable impacts on the bottom line.

Companies taking a pro-active stance towards this challenge will benefit the most. They will save money and provide a better workplace for their employees, creating a “win-win” situation.

For some examples of good practice in the UK we have:

KPMG whose vision and strategy includes:

• Energising Programme
• Behavioural Health and Performance
• Optimum Health, Wellbeing and Performance

Tate & Lyle who recently shared their best practice with the business community in Newham. The are quoted as saying:

“In April, Tate & Lyle were credited by the NHS as a model of best business practice for our healthcare schemes which include counselling, help with smoking cessation, yoga and a number of other lifestyle courses. We feel that we have good case studies to offer other businesses. We’ve run the scheme for many years and over that time have gathered interesting data on what works, what doesn’t, and the real benefits that the scheme brings our employees in terms of their health and wellbeing.
We can also demonstrate to other companies the business rationale to support a
health and wellbeing programme – such as increased motivation, productivity and
decreased absenteeism”, says Michael Grier, Tate & Lyle’s Corporate Social
Responsibility Manager.

Increasingly we will be seeing more and more companies mainstreaming corporate health and wellbeing into the business strategy in the same way that equality and diversity have been incorporated. These are no longer separate initiatives, but much more ‘the way we do things around here.

• 18 million sick days are being lost owing to weight related health issues
• There is an average of 10.1 days absence per employee per year in the public sector and 6.7 in the private sector
• Research, segmented employees into groups – with the top quarter representing the healthiest, and the bottom quarter the least. The findings demonstrated a 20 per cent productivity gap between those in the top and those in the bottom quarter - the equivalent of a day’s lost work every week.

The following can make a big difference to the health and productivity of your workforce:

7 Steps to boost energy, relief stress and improve
productivity

Hydration – Water keeps you alert, it metabolises fat cells, removes toxins from the body, reduces headaches and aids digestion. Encourage staff to keep a water bottle on their desk. Have water stations in each working area.

Avoid stimulants – fizzy drinks, coffee and tea sap energy. Instead provide plenty of water stations in place of the ‘fizzy drinks’ machines

Provide fresh fruit – the best food for alertness and energy are raw foods. Provide fresh fruit and ensure any on-site facilities offer a well balanced menu

Encourage physical activity – in the States, sticky ‘use the stairs’ labels were placed at the bottom of office stairs and outside of lifts. This led to a measurable increase in activity

Take a break – during lunch breaks, encourage staff to go out.  Increasing physical activity benefits the mind as well as the body

Stress management - Could you provide staff with relaxation CDs, massage, yoga classes?

Signpost resources – in accord with their responsibilities, employers are building a resource base. Some provide subsidised resources to improve health and well-being. These include:

a. Subsidised gym membership
b. Smoking cessation therapies
c. Counselling for anxiety
d. Beautician

For our White Paper contact  Elaine Gold on 08450 51 91 61

Everyone is keen to find the answer to the weight ‘time bomb’ affecting the UK.  Many organisations are coming forward with suggestions and proposals to how to help individuals to lose weight and get fitter.  Today we have Natural England launching a campaign to get people to spend more time outside in the country.

It is said that being outside can help to reduce stress and increase physical activity. The core belief at the centre of this research is that we are spending more time away from nature and the natural environment than every before, and we have increased levels of stress, obesity and fitness related illnesses than ever before.

Interestingly, Natural England have a number of partners with whom they are working to promote campaigns to get more people involved with nature - these partners include the BBC as well as councils and health charities.

There is no doubt that we are facing a frightening problem with weight related diseases, so all possible strategies for dealing with this are welcome.

We need a strong awareness raising campaign and we need to make increased physical activity more attractive.  We look forward to seeing more of this campaign and the results.

Most people will know someone with diabetes.  The rise of Type 2 Diabetes (the most common form) is associated with obesity.  Approximately 80% of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight and it is increasingly being diagnosed in children and adolescents.  The search for treatment which will help to prevent the early onset is high priority.  It was therefore heartening to read a  recent study carried out by Pharmanex, which revealed that Green Tea (in the form of their proprietary product “Tegreen 97″ had benefits in terms of blood sugar control, body fat burning properties and weight loss benefits.

Diabetes is a disorder of metabolism�the way our bodies use digested
food for growth and energy. Most of the food we eat is broken down into
glucose, the form of sugar in the blood. Glucose is the main source of
fuel for the body.

After digestion, glucose passes into the bloodstream, where it is
used by cells for growth and energy. For glucose to get into cells,
insulin must be present. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas,
a large gland behind the stomach.

When we eat, the pancreas automatically produces the right amount of
insulin to move glucose from blood into our cells. In people with
diabetes, however, the pancreas either produces little or no insulin,
or the cells do not respond appropriately to the insulin that is
produced. Glucose builds up in the blood, overflows into the urine, and
passes out of the body in the urine. Thus, the body loses its main
source of fuel even though the blood contains large amounts of glucose.

To obtain your supply of Tegreen, you can order from our weblink here.

You can find some useful information on the NHS Direct website.

There are some simple steps you can take to help:

Look out for the signs of heat related illnesses:

Heat-related illnesses include:

* Heat rash (prickly heat), which occurs when the sweat ducts to the skin become blocked, swell, and cause discomfort and itching.
* Heat cramps, which occur in muscles after exercise because sweating causes the body to lose water and salt and minerals (electrolytes).
* Heat edema (swelling) in the legs and hands, which can occur when you sit or stand for a long time in a hot environment.
* Heat tetany (hyperventilation and heat stress), which is usually caused by short periods of stress in a hot environment.
* Heat syncope (fainting), which occurs from low blood pressure when heat causes the blood vessels to expand (dilate) and body fluids move into the legs because of gravity.
* Heat exhaustion (heat prostration), which generally develops when a person is working or exercising in hot weather and does not drink enough liquids to replace those lost fluids.
* Heatstroke (sunstroke), which occurs when the body fails to regulate its own temperature and body temperature continues to rise, often to 105� (40.6�) or higher. Heatstroke is a medical emergency. Even with immediate treatment, it can be life-threatening or result in serious long-term complications.

Make sure you protect your skin with sunscreen, Cancer Research UK has a clever ‘Smart Code’:

Remember the SunSmart code!
S pend time in the shade between 11 and 3
M ake sure you never burn
A im to cover up with a t-shirt, hat and sunglasses
R emember to take extra care with children
T hen use factor 15+ sunscreen

Also report mole changes or unusual skin growths promptly to your doctor