Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q) has invited the state’s citizens to help create the world’s biggest painting as part of its SahtakAwalan: Your Health First campaign.

The college - along with its strategic partners the Supreme Council of Health, the Supreme Education Council, Qatar Petroleum, Occidental Petroleum of Qatar Ltd, ExxonMobil, and Vodafone Qatar - is in the middle of holding Paint Your Healthy Future, which has seen giant canvasses placed in malls around Doha.

Each canvas has been printed with a stencil and members of the public – particularly children – are being encouraged to set their inner artist free and use paint to colour in the picture, a statement from the college said.

At the end of the project, each canvas will be attached together to create a painting that will be a record-breaker. The current record stands at 7,166 meters.

In addition to the canvas, informative brochures about healthy lifestyles and electronic pedometers that allow users to record their daily activity levels and set targets to increase them were distributed to all participants. They also received body mass index (BMI) measuring devices, with which they can calculate how much of their body is composed of fat and how much is muscle, a crucial measurement for determining overall health.

Dr Javaid Sheikh, dean of WCMC-Q, said: “Paint Your Healthy Future is an opportunity for people to take part in a world record bid while also learning about the best way to lead a healthy life.”

“The Your Health First campaign aims to educate both the Qatari and expatriate communities so that they can make informed, healthy, lifestyle choices. We can then help create a healthy population able to contribute to Qatar’s knowledge-based society in line with the objectives of Qatar National Vision 2030.”

“But education must also be enjoyable if people are to engage with and accept the advice offered. That is why Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar is hosting events such as Paint Your Healthy Future – to engage and entertain people while providing a serious message,” Dr Sheikh added.

Along with the canvasses, doctors and dietitians are on hand to answer questions from members of the public. Health-related promotions and brochures with tips on living a healthy lifestyle are also available. Representatives from WCMC-Q provide all the water-based, environmentally-friendly paints and brushes needed for the challenge.

The canvasses have been placed in Villaggio, Landmark, City Center and Hyatt Plaza. Additional canvasses will be installed at different places in Qatar, details of which will be announced later, the statement said. – TradeArabia News Service