Bayer paves path for self-care at Shanghai exhibit

During the 2015 International Self-Care Day on July 24, the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum presented an exhibition that promotes the need for individuals to take care of their health on a daily basis.

In conjunction with International Self-Care Day, German life science company Bayer kicked off a three-day event called The Amazing Journey of Life that comprises interactive exhibitions with professional lectures to promote the so-called health trend of self-care.

The event included fun interactive exhibits with visitors, especially children, using games and knowledge to illustrate the journey of life from a child's perspective. Passing through a maze, visitors learned about the mysteries of science and participated in a "vascular scavenger hunt", a food pyramid and a pet clinic.

Bayer representatives said the games incorporate the company's knowledge and expertise in healthcare and crop science and allow visitors, especially children, to learn more about the cardiovascular, digestive and immune systems as well as allergies, biology and botany.

In the scavenger hunt, players had to remove obstacles in a blood vessel to ensure the pumping of blood. Throughout the game, players could visualize the three risk factors of cardiovascular diseases - high cholesterol, high fat and high blood sugar levels.

Visitors also learned more about Bayer's products at the traveling exhibition called Science for a Better Life, which illustrates science, innovation and a better life through 21 interactive 3-D displays. Since marking the company's 150th anniversary in 2013, Bayer's Science for a Better Life multimedia traveling exhibition has attracted more than 180,000 visitors.

Not just for kids

The Bayer exhibit also has professional lectures for adults, with experts delivering lectures on the prevention and control of common allergies and tips on pet care. The lectures, Bayer said, can help adults understand the common challenges in daily self-care by discussing symptoms, causes and precautionary measures.

The exhibit also features a health knowledge contest, a life sciences question and answer contest, a charity auction and a pet adoption area to test visitors' energy, intelligence and compassion.

"As a Life Science company, one of our core missions is to improve quality of life. We do this by offering world-class products and solutions that prevent, diagnose and cure illnesses, as well as products and solutions that promote wellness. Self-care is an important part of achieving and maintaining wellness. We encourage people to take care of themselves," said Celina Chew, president of Bayer Greater China Group.

"On this International Self-Care Shanghai Open Day, we would like to share with people, in an interactive and interesting way, the many opportunities they have to lead a healthier life. In particular, we hope that children and their families gain a better understanding of this important topic and also have a lot of fun."

International Self-Care Day was established in 2011 as a global health commemoration day. It calls on people around the world to increase their own and their families' awareness of health 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Every year on July 24, International Self-Care Day is celebrated around the world.

During this year's International Self-Care Day, Bayer also worked with the International Self-Care Foundation and China Nonprescription Medicines Association to launch a self-care white paper project in Beijing.

The project aims to give an overview of China's self-care industries in order to provide guidance and suggestions for the industry's development.

The white paper will also discuss the prevention of chronic diseases from multiple perspectives, such as self-medication, self-examinations and family prevention. Exercise, controlling drinking and smoking, promoting psychological health and other self-care practices will be included in the paper.

zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 07/31/2015 page22)