AZF's step into health programme witnesses meteoric rise in registrations

The initiative, which is sponsored by Commercialbank Qatar, RasGas, and Qtel, is aimed at engaging the people of Qatar in a self-managed lifelong plan based on a moderate amount of daily healthy activity.

About to run out of pedometers; why is this huge turnout?

The programme is unique as it is based on non-competitive and recreational exercise that can be easily fitted into everyday life. It has been designed for everyone aged 16 and up and for all fitness levels. No need for putting special cloths, wearing sports shoes, or going to the gym or any walking/running trails. It motivates the people to just walk more along within their normal daily activities.

Mr. Hilal Al Kuwari, President of AZF, said, "At Aspire Zone, we continuously aim to find ways in which we can inspire members of the Qatari community to enhance their fitness levels and transition smoothly into a healthier lifestyle. To do so, we build on all our accumulated knowledge, resources and expertise."

Women are 50% of the participants

Dr. Mohammed Gaith Al Kuwari, Director of the Healthy Lifestyle program at Aspetar, commented on the initiative, "Modern scientific research has confirmed that the majority of people do not undertake three to five thousand steps daily, depending on the nature of their work. Moreover, it has been proven that the impact of increasing movement on an individual's health doesn't manifest until they have started walking ten thousands steps a day or more. Therefore, walking 10,000 steps a day has a bigger impact on our health than exercising three hours a week."

In addition, over 50% of the registered Qatari participants are female, a further reflection on the ease of the program for individuals with busy lifestyles. Dr. Ez Aldeen Ibrahim, step into health Coordinator, added that more than 60 percent of all registered participants fall in the 25-45 age bracket.

Participants Feedback: Daily Data Upload is the way through...

Mr. Mohammed Abdullah Al Malki, one of the participants enrolled expressed his satisfaction with program's enabler, a pedometer, and said, "I'd like to express my gratitude to AZF for this initiative and making the device free of charge for all participants. This is an excellent AZF program designed to encourage members of the community not only to participate, but more importantly to continue in the long term and make this a daily part of their routine."

A number of participants reiterated Al Malki's sentiment, adding that the secret to achieving the goal of 10,000 steps a day is uploading the data from their pedometers and regularly checking the results through a mobile app made available for free from AZF.

Step into health joins an array of other community inspired events by AZF that are designed to support its vision to encourage a healthy lifestyle through fun and popular physical activities such as walking, running, and swimming.