The 12th edition of Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) will feature a 10-week long health carnival, Summer Health Festival aimed at educating visitors about healthy lifestyle and well-being.

DSS 2009, a major shopping and family entertainment extravaganza, will open on June 11 and will run across various malls in Dubai for 65 days.

Five dedicated themes – healthy eating, physical fitness, beautiful you, health & hygiene and health check-ups – will generate awareness about good health practices, each conducted for two weeks.

The initiative has been conceived by ExHealth, a pioneering healthcare consultancy and services company, and will be supported by key healthcare and lifestyle entities.

“DSS has so far concentrated on offering a great fun experience to the residents with numerous games and activities; we have witnessed an increasingly greater number of footfalls, year on year,” said Suhaila Gobash, events manager at DSF Office, organisers of DSS.

“This is an opportune time to address the health hazards being experienced by the nation and promote healthy lifestyle consciousness amongst the visitors,” Gobash added.

The event comes at a time where incidences of diabetes, hypertension, obesity, cardiovascular conditions and pulmonary diseases are on the rise.

“Education coupled with screenings at high footfall areas, especially in an entertaining ambience where people are more relaxed is a great way to acquaint people with such serious concerns,” said Dr Prem Jagyasi, managing director and CEO of ExHealth.

“Health is a matter gaining importance in all our lives, and I mean not just the physical aspect but even the mental wellbeing. We have tried to address these issues through our activities.”

Fun filled programmes will inform visitors about healthy eating habits, physical fitness, mental wellbeing and hygiene and will be followed by two weeks of free health checkups across participating destinations.

Leading malls will come on board as weekly participants while Modhesh World will host the activities throughout the duration. A dedicated website SummerHealthFestival.com has been set up to keep residents abreast with forthcoming activities. – TradeArabia News Service