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Bareen hospital's ‘Take the Stairs’ challenge

Bareen hospital launches ‘Take the Stairs’ challenge

Abu Dhabi, April 18, 2019

 
Bareen International Hospital in Mohammad Bin Zayed City, Abu Dhabi, has launched its ‘Take the Stairs’ challenge in an effort to fight the rising obesity rates in the UAE.
 
The social media-driven campaign is designed to encourage people young and old to swap the lifts for stairs, in a bid to boost exercise levels.
 
The 30-day challenge will see people across the UAE forego using lifts to reach their workplaces or homes and pledge to use stairs instead. Participants are also encouraged to post images of their climb alongside the #TakeTheStairs hashtag.
 
With 30 per cent of the world’s population being obese or overweight (according to the World Health Organization), the figures are more alarming in the Middle East. The prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents ranges from 5 per cent to 14 per cent in males and from 3per cent to 18per cent in females. 
 
Over 340 million children and adolescents aged 5-19 globally were overweight or obese, according to the latest figures. Moreover, a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that about a third of the global population—including adults and children—exceed a healthy weight. About 10 per cent of people in the world are obese, according to the findings.
 
Statistics show that obesity in the UAE is double the world average and there are also a growing number of people with type 2 diabetes, linked to being overweight, with a huge 19% of the population already suffering from the disease.
 
“In the world that we live in, many of us lead sedentary lifestyles, where we spend a lot of time in our cars and at our desks. We are excited to launch our #TakeTheStairs challenge, and encourage people to make small changes to be more active in the long-term”, said Dr El Zaqui Ladha, consultant – bariatric and general surgery at Bareen International Hospital. –TradeArabia News Services
 



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