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Employees from Zayed Sports City, the premier sports and entertainment venue in the UAE, are proving that they ‘practice what they preach’ by actively improving their health during November, and participating in the du Corporate Step Challenge. So far, by walking, running and skipping across the capital, employees have clocked up an amazing 8.3 million steps, equivalent to 3932 miles - the distance between Abu Dhabi and Johannesburg, South Africa.
According to recent research from United Health Group, approximately 73% of adult women and 66% of men are overweight or obese in the UAE, placing the Emirates in the top five countries worldwide for obesity. While offering the public a range of facilities to tackle these issues and become more active, Zayed Sports City employees also realize their own need for an active and healthy lifestyle.
Hassan Mostafa, who is taking part in the Challenge said, “I’ve wanted to lose weight for some time now but a recent knee surgery set me back even further. I’ve always made excuses when it comes to exercise but committing to the Challenge was the push I needed to get started. I’m more active now and my energy level is improving.”
Zayed Sports City has entered four teams in the Challenge, with one of them Team ZSC Cheetah currently placed seventh overall among 67 teams. Employees have devised a number of ways to make sure they are increasing their step count during their working day, including an hourly lap around the National Stadium and ditching buggies in favour of walking to meetings within the 1.2 million sqm Zayed Sports City complex.
Outside of working hours, a number of employees have taken it upon themselves to take part in extra activities to ensure a high step count. One member of the team has installed a treadmill in his sitting room, to continue walking while at home. Another team member completed an astonishing 100,000 steps, which is approximately 50 miles, in one day as a personal challenge.
Barry Bremner, General Manager at ZSC said: “Accessible to everyone, Zayed Sports City offers visitors and employees the opportunity to take part in activities and initiatives for a healthy lifestyle. We are really proud of the commitment our employees have shown in the Corporate Step Challenge. By taking the initiative to participate, we are demonstrating that small changes can improve the health and wellbeing of UAE residents. At the same time, we’re really pushing ourselves to win the competition and we’re aiming to reach over 11 million steps by the time the Challenge ends.”
Organised under the ‘Every Step Counts’ wellness initiative, the five week du Corporate Step Challenge sees teams of five compete against each other in the total number of steps they can achieve. Teams from Zayed Sports City are competing against other UAE companies, including SEHA, Al Faraa, Tamkeen and Du and the competition ends on December 1, 2014.
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