Ministry to celebrate Sport Day at Aspire Park

The Ministry of Public Health has lined up a number of programmes to celebrate National Sport Day at Aspire Park today. On the itinerary is a walk with the participation of employees from the ministry, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), and Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC).
HE the Minister of Public Health Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari has emphasised the importance of sport and healthy lifestyles to reduce the likelihood of non-communicable diseases, and its importance to live a
quality life.
In a message issued yesterday, the minister pointed out that the leadership of Qatar has given a head-start for the country by allocating a day for sport at the state level, recognising that sport is an essential component for a healthy living.
The minister also confirmed that sport contributes to improving quality of life, as confirmed by the World Health Organisation in its definition of the “Concept of Quality of Life”. She indicated that the positive development of physical activity is a necessity to overcome physical, psychological and behavioural problems and is crucial for the health and professional development of individuals.
The minister explained that the Ministry of Public Health is keen to transform sport and physical activity to a norm for a healthy lifestyle for the Qatari society due to its psychological and social benefits. Additionally, physical activity and sports provide better health and longer life and more active community members.
The sport day aims to raise awareness of sports and motivate society members to deal with sports as part of their daily lives. The Ministry of Public Health, HMC and PHCC are working together to spread awareness of healthy lifestyles among members of the community.
There are many important initiatives and projects, including the National Plan of Action for Nutrition and Physical Activity 2011-2016, which is one of the National Health Strategy projects. The plan aims to increase public awareness on the positive effects of a healthy diet and physical activity on a regular basis, through healthy lifestyles and motivate residents to practice regular physical activity with a particular focus on schools, communities and workplace health programmes.