CHALFONT ST. GILES, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today GE Healthcare (NYSE:GE) 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.”

The World Health Organization reports that nearly 30 percent of all cancer deaths can be prevented, and research confirms that a healthy diet and regular exercise can help reduce the risk of cancer. For information about activities that people can do to potentially reduce their risk of cancer, refer to this article on the GE Healthcare Newsroom.

The Rules of the Game
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. To be recognized as part of the “Get Fit” competition, each tweet must include the specific “Get Fit” hash tag for the participant’s country, which can be found on the “Get Fit” web page at http://www.ge.com/getfit. As long as the hash tag is included in the tweet, then it doesn’t matter which language is used for the tweet.

The “Get Fit” web page will show the progression of the competition on a world map showing which continents are generating the most ‘healthy tweets.’ As participants tweet about their healthy activities, the cells hovering over each continent will gradually change from a ‘risky red’ to a ‘healthier green’ color. The map also shows how many tweets have been generated by each country, and the country’s ranking among its continental neighbors.

The winning continent will be the first to turn its cells green, or the continent that has progressed furthest down the color spectrum outlined on the map. At the end of the competition, an open vote will be held to determine which country on the winning continent will receive a $20,000 donation to the Red Cross or Red Crescent Society operating in that country.

Healthymagination at GE
Healthymagination-validated products have touched the lives of more than 234 million people as part of GE’s $6 billion commitment to provide better health for more people at lower cost. By creating easy access to clear, actionable information, healthymagination is helping consumers participate more fully in their own healthcare story. The “Get Fit” competition is one such initiative, aiming to raise awareness of cancer risks that are linked to peoples’ daily lifestyle choices.

GE also creates data visualizations using data from healthymagination initiatives and from government and NGO partners. These interactive graphics present information in a personal and compelling way that can help them make decisions and gain perspective on health issues.

The healthymagination suite of mobile apps from GE is custom-designed with health consumers in mind. Each application is focused on specific aspects of health — such as diet, sleep and pregnancy — to help people learn, and manage their personal health effectively. Find out more at http://www.healthymagination.com/

About GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services that are shaping a new age of patient care. Our broad expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies, performance improvement and performance solutions services help our customers to deliver better care to more people around the world at a lower cost. In addition, we partner with healthcare leaders, striving to leverage the global policy change necessary to implement a successful shift to sustainable healthcare systems.

Our “healthymagination” vision for the future invites the world to join us on our journey as we continuously develop innovations focused on reducing costs, increasing access and improving quality around the world. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employees are committed to serving healthcare professionals and their patients in more than 100 countries. For more information about GE Healthcare, visit our website at www.gehealthcare.com.

For our latest news, please visit http://newsroom.gehealthcare.com

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