A message on the lift urging people to use the stairs.
DOHA: The Supreme Council of Health (SCH) has launched a campaign at its offices to mark National Sport Day, encouraging its employees to use the stairs instead of the elevator as a simple way to a healthy life.
The campaign will begin tomorrow, on National Sport Day, and continue in the months to come.
Jassim Ibrahim Fakhroo, director of Media and Public Relations at the SCH, said yesterday that some of the elevators at the SCH headquarters will be stopped as part of the campaign. Staircases have been decorated with stickers and posters highlighting the importance of physical exercise and the health benefits of climbing steps.
“Your are about to burn five times more calories than using the elevators” reads a poster. Employees can calculate how much calories they have burned while climbing every floor. “4th floor. 17. 5 calories burned from first floor,” reads another poster.
Fakhroo said the initiative was part of an ongoing campaign called “Healthy workplace” launched by the SCH for its employees early this year. This campaign aims to encourage healthy habits among the staff, such as simple physical exercises at the office and outside, a healthy way of sitting in the office and quitting smoking.
Dr Sheikha Al Anoud bint Mohammed Al Thani, head of the Health Promotion and Non communicable Diseases Department at the SCH, said that the new move was a very important step towards improving modern lifestyles, which provide no room for regular physical activity.
“Climbing steps will help burn calories, stimulate the brain cells and improve blood circulation. This is the easiest and most effective physical exercise in daily life since it does not require any equipment and no need to go to a gym. It can be practiced while coming to the office or while going back and at other places,” said Al Anoud. She said the first phase of the campaign involved collecting health data of the employees through a questionnaire to identify their heath condition and health requirements. The survey conducted through email has evoked a tremendous response among the employees.
THE PENINSULA
