Only 30% of Abu Dhabi residents exercise regularly, says health minister

only 30% Abu Dhabi Despite the continuous efforts of the government to promote and encourage healthy lifestyle.

and National Encouraging the public to be more active is a “universal challenge”, said Dr Omniyat Mohammed Al Hajeri, executive director of community health at the Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre, during the ninth International Society for Physical Activity and Health (ISPAH) Congress. “

“From today’s meeting, we realize that this is a problem that many countries are facing, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic, especially the younger generation.

“However, just as importantly, we realised that despite all the infrastructure available to keep people active, we still only have about 30% of Abu Dhabi’s society that is considered to be active on a regular basis, so obviously, There is still a lot to do.”

Abu Dhabi continues to promote and sponsor programmes for cycle paths, community parks, marathons and community running, but 2021 Quality of Life Survey A study conducted by the Ministry of Community Development showed that as many as 70% of Abu Dhabi’s residents do little physical activity.

This lack of mobility has led to health problems such as the country’s rising death rate obesity and cardiovascular disease.

“We need to do more research to try to identify other possible barriers,” said Dr. Al Hajeri.

“We need to look at the possibility of encouraging physical activity in all types of activities and basically all spaces – so more movement at home, more movement at work, more movement at school, more movement, wherever you go where.”

Previous research has found that only about 19% of people in Dubai do the recommended amount of exercise.

A regional review of data compiled by the World Obesity Federation at the end of 2020 found that in Saudi Arabia, 42% of women and 31% of men are obese.

In the UAE, women make up 31% and men 25%.

One of the main reasons for the lack of exercise mentioned at the meeting was the hot weather, with summer temperatures in the UAE averaging as high as 41°C and highs around 50°C.

“Right now, one of the possible challenges that people keep mentioning is the hot weather – I have to say, yes we don’t have the best weather for most of the year, but we do have a few good months. Great for outdoor activities,” said Dr Al Hajeri.

It is also important to remember that Abu Dhabi is very safe and people can walk at night, she said.

“What you really need is to encourage people to increase their mobility on every possible occasion,” the health chief said.

“So if you work 6 to 8 hours and your work is mostly desk work, you can take a short break and walk around to make sure you have some activity, like standing up to do some work, or having an office treadmill.”

The ISPAH conference, held in Abu Dhabi for the first time this year, will conclude on Wednesday.

It is the world’s largest conference on physical activity and health and is recognized as the world’s leading association of researchers and practitioners dedicated to promoting physical activity.

Updated: 10/26/2022 3:24am