Abu Dhabi Public Health Center achieves ‘billion steps target’ in six weeks

ABU DHABI – The Abu Dhabi Public Health Center (ADPHC) has revealed that its “Billion Steps Challenge” has surpassed its ambitious goal, with more than 8,000 people taking part in the program in six weeks.

In partnership with the Ministry of Health and Prevention, Community Development, Abu Dhabi Sports, Culture and Tourism, and fitness app STEPPI, the challenge attracted more than 8,000 participants from the UAE community and abroad.

A total of 1,017,329,987 steps were logged, covering 622,313 kilometers – the equivalent of walking nearly 14 laps around the world while burning 83,440,256 calories.

It also recorded figures that exceeded the average daily step count of STEPPI users, with an average of 9,670 steps per user per day compared to 6,494 steps outside the challenge. It also found that people were more active, with users spending an average of 50 minutes per day instead of 42 minutes.

Matar Al Nuaimi, Director General of Abu Dhabi Center for Public Health, said: “Achieving the goal of 1 billion steps in just six weeks is a remarkable achievement and I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who took part in this challenge. Initiatives like this Crucial to raising awareness of the importance of physical activity and the positive impact it can have on your health, we couldn’t be more proud of its success.

The challenge, which began on September 15, is one of ADPHC’s initiatives for the International Association for Physical Activity and Health (ISPAH) Congress, which is being hosted and held from October 23-26.

People from the UAE community participated in the challenge alongside local, regional and international congress visitors, including academics, practitioners, thought leaders and policy makers.

It aims to encourage individuals to be more active by collectively walking 1 billion steps at the conclusion of the world’s largest physical activity and wellness conference. It is also part of ADPHC’s ongoing efforts to promote physical activity and is fully in line with government efforts to promote healthier lifestyles.