Health ambassadors are to be appointed and trained in workplaces to promote a healthy lifestyle and in an effort to get communities more involved in preventative health measures.
A Department of Health Abu Dhabi (Haad) official revealed the new project at the two-day USA healthcare symposium in Dubai.
Dr Omniyat Al Hajri, director, Public Health Division, said Haad is working on a “major programme” to influence the community into making positive lifestyle changes.
“We want to encourage successful examples - public health ambassadors,” she said.
“It’s easy to talk, for a physician to give instructions, but when it comes to the real change, that person needs a lot of support. We need to create a system where the people who are not providing direct care are helping physicians and healthcare providers.”
The public health ambassador programme, she said, will “focus on people with a special interest in health. We will start with workplaces and using their talents and abilities and their positive energy for change”.
The ambassadors will be trained and certified by the Haad and officials will follow up with each ambassador to see “how many people’s lives they touch”.
“There is a huge room for improvement, we have been looking for many models and nothing has seemed to click until now. We need everybody’s support,” Dr Al Hajri said.
Dr Farhana bin Lootah, of Imperial College London Diabetes Centre in the capital, said the issue is not with the healthcare system but with individuals.
“The role of the healthcare sector is very minimal. We don’t have executive power in the community and prevention is within the community. It is lifestyle choices and that needs to be changed. It starts with the community and the individual,” she said.
“It's evident that that there is a paradigm shift and support from leadership towards prevention in the community, as seen by the many initiatives, like the fitness challenge 30x30 Dubai.”
Co-director of Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine and renowned fitness expert Dr Edward Laskowski said education was key.
“They have to educate people that this is a severe problem. It affects quality of life as well as quantity of life,” he said. “If you have an over-30 BMI, there is a 200 to 400 times increased risk of mortality than with a normal weight individual.
Read more: US to open diabetes training centre in the UAE to share knowledge
“Certainly in the US, we want the magic fix and we are forgetting the foundation of good eating and activity. We have technology that keeps us sedentary, we have tablets, computers, smartphones, video games, so many things that keeps us sedentary. In the world now there is more overfed than underfed, according to WHO.”
Dr Laskowski said that high intensity interval training, or HIIT, is a very efficient way of getting activity that benefits our health. The training involves doing an activity as hard as you can for 30 seconds and then resting for 30 seconds to a minute, or more depending on fitness levels. It can be any activity you enjoy, such as biking, swimming and even walking. “Peddle as fast as you can for about 30 seconds and then go slowly for a few minutes. In total it would take about 15 to 20 minutes,” he said.
“We are finding many of the benefits of shorter-duration exercise as in the longer-duration exercise. People always want to know what is the least they can do and this is a way to attract people to exercise.”
Citing a patient who lost 200 pounds using this exercise programme, he said “you don’t need a fancy gym or a healthy diet”.
“Diets don’t work. Healthy eating works. We forget the basics. There is no magic to it. When we make healthy choices, choose the right food, the right lunch, move our bodies, those things work for everybody.”
The USA Healthcare symposium, which concluded on Tuesday, is one of Discover America’s key events, held for the first time in the UAE. It brought health officials, doctors and experts from the USA and UAE together to help tackle diabetes.
*This story has been amended since publication to clarify that Dr Omniyat Al Hajri works for the Department of Health.
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Company name: Revibe
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Based: UAE
Industry: Refurbished electronics
Funds raised so far: $10m
Investors: Flat6Labs, Resonance and various others
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MATCH INFO
Chelsea 1 (Hudson-Odoi 90+1')
Manchester City 3 (Gundogan 18', Foden 21', De Bruyne 34')
Man of the match: Ilkay Gundogan (Man City)
If you go
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Funchal via Lisbon, with a connecting flight with Air Portugal. Economy class returns cost from Dh3,845 return including taxes.
The trip
The WalkMe app can be downloaded from the usual sources. If you don’t fancy doing the trip yourself, then Explore offers an eight-day levada trails tour from Dh3,050, not including flights.
The hotel
There isn’t another hotel anywhere in Madeira that matches the history and luxury of the Belmond Reid's Palace in Funchal. Doubles from Dh1,400 per night including taxes.
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final, second leg (first-leg score)
Porto (0) v Liverpool (2), Wednesday, 11pm UAE
Match is on BeIN Sports
Champions parade (UAE timings)
7pm Gates open
8pm Deansgate stage showing starts
9pm Parade starts at Manchester Cathedral
9.45pm Parade ends at Peter Street
10pm City players on stage
11pm event ends
Everton Fixtures
April 15 - Chelsea (A)
April 21 - N. Forest (H)
April 24 - Liverpool (H)
April 27 - Brentford (H)
May 3 - Luton Town (A)
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Company profile
Name: Tabby
Founded: August 2019; platform went live in February 2020
Founder/CEO: Hosam Arab, co-founder: Daniil Barkalov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Payments
Size: 40-50 employees
Stage: Series A
Investors: Arbor Ventures, Mubadala Capital, Wamda Capital, STV, Raed Ventures, Global Founders Capital, JIMCO, Global Ventures, Venture Souq, Outliers VC, MSA Capital, HOF and AB Accelerator.
UK record temperature
38.7C (101.7F) set in Cambridge in 2019
Brief scores:
Manchester City 3
Aguero 1', 44', 61'
Arsenal 1
Koscielny 11'
Man of the match: Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
Results:
5pm: Baynunah Conditions (UAE bred) Dh80,000 1,400m.
Winner: Al Tiryaq, Dane O’Neill (jockey), Abdullah Al Hammadi (trainer).
5.30pm: Al Zahra Handicap (rated 0-45) Dh 80,000 1,400m:
Winner: Fahadd, Richard Mullen, Ahmed Al Mehairbi.
6pm: Al Ras Al Akhdar Maiden Dh80,000 1,600m.
Winner: Jaahiz, Jesus Rosales, Eric Lemartinel.
6.30pm: Al Reem Island Handicap Dh90,000 1,600m.
Winner: AF Al Jahed, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel.
7pm: Al Khubairah Handicap (TB) 100,000 2,200m.
Winner: Empoli, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
7.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap Dh80,000 2,200m.
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SCHEDULE
December 8: UAE v USA (Sharjah Cricket Stadium)
December 9: USA v Scotland (Sharjah Cricket Stadium)
December 11: UAE v Scotland (Sharjah Cricket Stadium)
December 12: UAE v USA (ICC Academy Oval 1)
December 14: USA v Scotland (ICC Academy Oval 1)
December 15: UAE v Scotland (ICC Academy Oval 1)
All matches start at 10am
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Grubtech
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Employees: 50
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Results
2.30pm: Expo 2020 Dubai – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (Dirt) 1,600m; Winner: Barakka, Ray Dawson (jockey), Ahmad bin Harmash (trainer)
3.05pm: Now Or Never – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: One Idea, Andrea Atzeni, Doug Watson
3.40pm: This Is Our Time – Handicap (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Perfect Balance, Tadhg O’Shea, Bhupat Seemar
4.15pm: Visit Expo 2020 – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Kaheall, Richard Mullen, Salem bin Ghadayer
4.50pm: The World In One Place – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1.900m; Winner: Castlebar, Adrie de Vries, Helal Al Alawi
5.25pm: Vision – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Shanty Star, Richard Mullen, Rashed Bouresly
6pm: Al Wasl Plaza – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: Jadwal, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson
PFA Premier League team of 2018-19
Allison (Liverpool)
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City)
Andrew Robertson (Liverpool)
Paul Pogba (Manchester United)
Fernandinho (Manchester City)
Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
Seven tips from Emirates NBD
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2. Never store a card PIN (personal identification number) in your mobile or in your wallet
3. Ensure online shopping websites are secure and verified before providing card details
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Copa del Rey final
Sevilla v Barcelona, Saturday, 11.30pm (UAE), match on Bein Sports
RACE SCHEDULE
All times UAE (+4 GMT)
Friday, September 29
First practice: 7am - 8.30am
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Saturday, September 30
Qualifying: 1pm - 2pm
Sunday, October 1
Race: 11am - 1pm
UAE Falcons
Carly Lewis (captain), Emily Fensome, Kelly Loy, Isabel Affley, Jessica Cronin, Jemma Eley, Jenna Guy, Kate Lewis, Megan Polley, Charlie Preston, Becki Quigley and Sophie Siffre. Deb Jones and Lucia Sdao – coach and assistant coach.
The specs
Engine: Single front-axle electric motor
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Torque: 330Nm
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Price: From Dh215,000 (estimate)
On sale: September
Brief scores:
Toss: Kerala Knights, opted to fielf
Pakhtoons 109-5 (10 ov)
Fletcher 32; Lamichhane 3-17
Kerala Knights 110-2 (7.5 ov)
Morgan 46 not out, Stirling 40
Pakistan World Cup squad
Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abid Ali, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez(subject to fitness), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Junaid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain
Two additions for England ODIs: Mohammad Amir and Asif Ali
Confirmed bouts (more to be added)
Cory Sandhagen v Umar Nurmagomedov
Nick Diaz v Vicente Luque
Michael Chiesa v Tony Ferguson
Deiveson Figueiredo v Marlon Vera
Mackenzie Dern v Loopy Godinez
Tickets for the August 3 Fight Night, held in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, went on sale earlier this month, through www.etihadarena.ae and www.ticketmaster.ae.
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