Siemens Tarrytown Employee Receives Heart Association Award

An employee with Siemens Tarrytown is the recipient of the American Heart Association's 2010 Start! Lifestyle Change Award sonsored by Aetna.

Zenaida Naveira received the award Wednesday at a ceremony at the Heart Institute at Westchester Medical Center.

The Lifestyle Change program helps employers recognize workers who make changes that improve their quality of life and health. Recipients achieve such personal milestones as weight loss, lower blood pressure, more energy or eating healthy.

Naveira said she accepted the award in honor of her family. Said Naveira, "A year ago, I was severely overweight and watched many of my family members suffer from high cholesterol, high blood pressure and heart disease. Their experiences opened my eyes and I realized I needed to make a change.

Naveira initially set a simple weight loss goal of 2-3 pounds, watched her food portions and walked a mile a day at work. She continued that and increased her walking to five miles a day, five days a week and eventually lost a total of 50 pounds and managed to keep the weight off.