Dr. Gilberto Ururahy
Medical director and founder of Med-Rio Check-Up, Dr. Gilberto Ururahy, gives presentation to NBCC.
Mr. Ururahy is specialized in preventive medicine and the author of three books on the topic. His clinics have conducted more than 120.000 medical check-ups among Brazilian business executives. Med-Rio Check-Up is also one of the most recent associates of NBCC, and several NBCC member companies are clients of Med-Rio Check-Up.
«Our goal is to identify risk factors, but changing lifestyle is very difficult, and we need to understand the habits of the modern man and woman», Dr. Ururahy says.
He started his presentation talking about the importance of an holistic approach to medicine, and in a world where the speed of things forces us to constantly adapt, stress is the number one reason for inadequate ways of life.
Research from the University of Harvard does in fact show that 80 percent of all medical consultations around the world have some connection to stress. Another study shows that 73 percent of the deaths in the world are related to lifestyle issues.
«Today our bodies are paying for the reality we are living, and I use to say that Brazil is causing damage to the Brazilians. But it still doesn´t make sense in the modern world to die from a decease in an advanced stage, or even to die from a heart attack, when there are so many tools available for us to detect an illness early.»
This is exactly what Dr. Ururahy is dedicating his professional life to. Today Med-Rio Check-Up has two clinics in Rio de Janeiro and has been in the market since 1990.
Under attack
In our modern society, many factors contribute to increasing the stress level of our lives: The global financial crisis, unemployment, corruption and urban violence are all factors representing some kind of aggression towards our emotional balance. In the corporative scenario, on a personal level and in the dynamics of the family, there are also factors constantly causing stress.
Mr. Ururahy with NBCC executive director Glorisabel Garrido Thompson-Flôres.
«Chronic stress is a pathology, and sooner or later, the human body will reach its limit. The ultimate result is an aneurism, a heart attack or a cancer. But before getting so far, stress can manifest itself in many other ways», Dr. Ururahy explained.
He talked about how chronic stress causes the levels of cortisol and adrenaline to increase in our bodies, and how an elevated production of these hormons impacts us. Depression, weight gain, insomnia and a higher blood pressure are only some of these effects
«Insomnia is a very common problem among the executives we treat. Sleep is fundamental to our health.»
During the event, Dr. Ururahy presented several numbers from the 27 years of experience in treating business executives.
«Stress is increasing steadily. 60 percent have what we describe as an unbalanced diet, but this number was 80 percent in 1990. Sedentarism is in fact decreasing, but 50 percent of the men and 55 percent of the women are still sedentary.»
The Med-Rio data also shows that overweight is increasing, the use of alcohol, especially among women is increasing, and today, female pacients are smoking more than the male pacients of the preventive clinic.
Self-medication is increasing, high blood pressure and diabetes cases are also becoming more frequent.
Recommendations
So what does Dr. Ururahy suggest:
«A healthy lifestyle is the best remedy for chronic deceases. We need to focus on prevention», Dr. Ururahy says.
This is why he urges us all to exercise regularly, eat and sleep well, and reduce stimulants like alcohol, nicotine and caffein.
«We also need to work our memory, know ourselves, laugh, surround ourselves with good friends and family, and seek the right balance between our personal and professional life», he concludes.
The dynamic event took place in the offices of Vieira Rezende in downtown Rio de Janeiro on December 5, 2017.
To see the full presentation please click here:
By Runa Hestmann, NBCC journalist
(runa.tierno@nbcc.com.br)
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