Thousands of people are expected to join the 6 km “Right from the Start” Walkathon this February which will take place along Jumeirah Beach Road. An annual event organized by the UAE Heart Network aims to attract attention to growing heart attacks in UAE and its invisible cause, bad cholesterol. During the event, participants will receive free health tests, giveaways and awareness courses.
The Walkathon will commence at Mercato Mall, with registration starting at 07:30 am. To ensure people joining the walk are fit enough for the 6 km’s, a free blood pressure, blood sugar and body mass index check will be conducted by Lifescan and Omron for all the participants.
The Walkathon is aimed at taking small steps in saving the lives of those who don’t know the dangers of having high cholesterol regardless of their weight or age. Bad cholesterol (LDL) is responsible for heart attacks and many other cardiovascular diseases. Considering heart attacks are the number one cause of death in the UAE, seriousness of high bad cholesterol is unavoidable. The UAE has one of the highest statistics of residents with high cholesterol levels in the Gulf region and one of the few countries in the world where effected age groups are younger than the world average.
The UAE Network wants health authorities to make cholesterol checks mandatory for everyone visiting a healthcare provider above the age of 35 and for all who are overweight. One of the volunteers Karim Khan, who lost a parent from a heart attack said, “It is not enough just to have awareness amongst the public. Health authorities as well as doctors play a key role in saving thousands of lives. If my father had been checked and treated, he could have survived. Our goal is to bring people to walk together in unity and show support between public and healthcare providers”
“Increase in physical activity like a 15-minute brisk walking everyday can do wonders for our health. It could help control cholesterol levels which lead to complications on diabetes or a fatal heart attack. With the walkathon, we hope that more people will pick up the habit of walking to be healthy, “said Dr. Abdulrazzak Madani, chairman of Emirates Diabetic Society.
The Walkathon will take place on 16th February 2007, starting at 7am in front of Mercato Mall in Jumeirah, Dubai.
