GE Healthcare, a leading provider of medical technologies and services, has launched a global competition on Twitter to raise public awareness about cancer prevention and healthy living.

For the next two months, the “Get Fit” campaign will encourage people from all over the world to tweet about their own health and fitness activities that have been shown to reduce the likelihood of developing cancer.

Continents will compete against one another to race towards fitness. At the end of the competition, one country’s Red Cross or Red Crescent Society, on the winning continent, will receive a donation of $20,000 based on an open vote.

“GE Healthcare has a long history of creating medical solutions that enable physicians to discover, diagnose and treat cancer,” said John Dineen, CEO of GE Healthcare. “And while ‘Get Fit’ is a friendly competition, there is a serious message behind it — in addition to all the initiatives launched by the company such as healthymagination and Health Ahead, GE Healthcare is committed to making a significant change in the fight against cancer.”

“We believe that combining a healthy lifestyle with earlier detection of cancer through the development of technology breakthroughs will make a real impact on a person’s likelihood of developing cancer,” he added.

The World Health Organization has reported that nearly 30 per cent of all cancer deaths can be prevented, and research confirms that a healthy diet and regular exercise can help reduce the risk of cancer.

Participants in the competition need only to have access to the internet and a Twitter account. They simply ‘tweet’ a comment about what they are doing to strive for a healthier lifestyle — e.g., cycling to work, cutting out smoking or eating a healthy meal, a statement said. – TradeArabia News Service