More than 3,000 employees from 15 companies took part in the ‘Step into health’ programme by Aspetar, the orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital, it was announced on Tuesday.
Research has shown that employees spend six to eight hours at workplace and they are exposed to increased sitting time which is associated with high risk of chronic life style-associated disorders and diseases, according to a statement.
Therefore, workplaces are recognised as a potential setting for health promotion to reach-out to the adult population and encourage active healthy working environment, it was pointed out.
The campaign ran between November 4, 2018 and January 31, 2019, welcoming over 3,000 participants from 15 different entities, such as: Aspire Zone Foundation, Public Ministry of Health, Qatar Airways, Qatar Financial Centre, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, Meeza, Ras Laffan Power Company, and Dolphin Energy.
During the celebratory event, director of the Exercise Medicine Department, Abdullah Saeed al-Mohannadi, said: “The Step into Health initiative at Aspetar is considered a world-class programme that is recognised on an international level and is designed to promote an active and healthy lifestyle.”
The healthy productive living has been recognised as one of the main components of Qatar’s National Health Strategy 2018-2022. Aspetar, a member of Aspire Zone Foundation, took the leading role in promoting active healthy living and reducing the burden of chronic lifestyle-associated diseases among the population of Qatar.
Al-Mohannadi explained that the programme teaches self-management and encourages individuals to walk over 10,000 steps a day through recreational and social activities. Since its launch in 2012, the programme saw more than 48,000 participants.
During the event, Dr Izzeldin Ibrahim, head of the Community Health programme talked about Aspetar’s initiatives launched by the department of exercise medicine, most notably the publication that comprised of guidelines on physical activity and health nutrition.
The workplace initiative aims to encourage employees to choose walking as an easy option to meet these physical activity guidelines and to improve their health and support the fight against non-communicable diseases.