Dr Mohammed Ghaith Al Kuwari gives a presentation during the media gathering for ‘Step Into Health’ programme at The Torch Doha hotel, yesterday as Dr Izzeldin Ibrahim (left), Coordinator of Health Lifestyle Programme at Aspetar and Fuad Al Mudahka, Physiologist at Aspetar, look on. (Shaival Dalal)
BY RAYNALD C RIVERA
DOHA: The nearly 10,000 participants in the ‘Step Into Health’ programme launched by the Aspire Zone Foundation (AZF) four weeks ago, have so far walked more than 75,459km, taking a total of 127,081,309 steps.
“A total of 9,651 participants have registered for the programme, of these 4,559 are Qataris,” Dr Izzeldin Ibrahim, Coordinator of Healthy Lifestyle Programme at Aspetar, informed the media yesterday.
Interestingly, a big fraction of the Qatari participants in the programme are women, said Dr Ibrahim.
Under the programme, participants in this nationwide initiative are given pedometers, which come with a web-based application, for free to determine the number of steps taken by an individual on a daily basis. So far 44 percent of the participants have taken 5,000 steps a day while 27 percent have taken 5,000 to 9,999 steps and the remaining 29 percent have reached the target 10,000 steps and more.
“Taking 10,000 steps a day is equivalent to walking eight kilometres which is ideal for an active and healthy body,” said Dr Mohammed Ghaith Al Kuwari, Healthy Lifestyle Programme Director in Aspetar.
While there are jobs which require a person to walk more, there are those which make a person inactive such as working in an office which does not even result in 5,000 steps. Using a pedometer makes a person aware of the number of steps he has taken and encourages him to walk more to achieve his daily target, thus making him physically active, said Dr Al Kuwari.
“The programme aims to change the lifestyle of the nation for the better. When walking becomes a habit, the person may not need the pedometer anymore,” he added.
Primarily, the programme targets those aged 45 years and over as they are the ones prone to lifestyle diseases. It is currently on its first phase which is open to the general public; the second phase will be aimed at schools and universities and work sites.
“Step Into Health comes within a series of integrated programmes that AZF adopts to achieve the Qatar National Vision 2030 objectives, particularly in the area of human development,” said Hilal Al Kuwari, AZF President, in a statement.
Those who want to participate in the programme can register at the website www.stepintohealth.qa.
The website is developed specifically to follow up and monitor progress of participants and to provide necessary guidance in the field of health and nutrition as well.
The Peninsula
