Nadia Ghenia, left, coordinator of the Smart campaign, and Dr Hagar Badawi, of the Majid Al Futtaim Charity Foundation, teach pupils in Grades 8 and 9 at Dubai Modern Education School how to take their pulse. Youngsters are also also taught about counting calories and the glycemic index. Sarah Dea / The National
Nadia Ghenia, left, coordinator of the Smart campaign, and Dr Hagar Badawi, of the Majid Al Futtaim Charity Foundation, teach pupils in Grades 8 and 9 at Dubai Modern Education School how to take theiShow more

Say no to junk food, UAE teens urged



DUBAI // Eat less junk food and take more exercise – this is the message being given to teenagers at schools across the country.

The Start Making All The Right Turns, or Smart, campaign teaches pupils from grade 8 onwards about diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease.

“We’re trying to convince them to make their own choices,” said Nadia Ghenia, the programme’s coordinator. “Everywhere they go, like the canteen, they find unhealthy food.

“Families can’t force children to avoid junk food, so children should learn to make their own choices.”

The campaign, by the Majid Al Futtaim Charity Foundation, advises teenagers that the decisions they make now will affect their health for many years to come.

"The problems of smoking, diabetes and obesity start at that age," Ms Ghenia said. "We're trying to convince them to make the choices by themselves – to say no to smoking, no to unhealthy food, to start exercising, to find out about diabetes and what can be prevented through exercise."

The programme, in its second year, has reached 85 schools so far. The foundation’s target is 500 schools over five years, or 100 schools a year.

“Last year, we went to a school every day,” Ms Ghenia said. “This year we want to finish all grades of one school each week before moving on to another.”

The charity visited the Oxford School and Al Maaref Private School last week, and spoke to children at the Dubai Modern Education School today.

"The programme focuses on hypertension, obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol and cardiovascular disease," Ms Ghenia said. "We talk to them about the prevention of smoking, and nutrition and physical activity, too."

According to the World Health Organisation, 80 per cent of premature heart disease, strokes and diabetes can be prevented.

“The lifestyle in the UAE is different [from that in the West],” Ms Ghenia said. “Children don’t have enough time and because of the weather, they can’t always exercise out.

“They don’t have the mentality to go exercise in specific places, so we’re telling them they need to move by cycling, walking or any other way.”

The programme has the children try 10 health-related activities, including checking the glycemic index, counting calories and learning about rehabilitation.

Children also complete nutrition score cards and use pedometers to measure their exercise levels.

Parents have welcomed the healthy eating initiative.

“The new generation just eats junk food, which increases their risk of diseases in the future,” said Salim Illias, the father of a 15-year-old pupil at the Model School in Abu Dhabi.

“They don’t realise that they could go to hospital and be diagnosed with high blood pressure and diabetes. Most kids are not aware.”

Mr Illias said his son Suhail exercised at school but junk food was a major problem.

“We reduced the number of times we go out to eat because I want this kind of junk food to disappear,” he said. “The programme is a great idea because all this is very harmful, especially for teens, and they are not conscious of their health.”

Teachers said such concepts should be introduced at school.

"Children should be more aware," said Suja Udaikumar, a teacher and supervisor at Delhi Private School in Sharjah. "Whatever they learn at that age, they retain it and keep it for life.

“It’s a very sedentary lifestyle children have here because of the weather and parents are overprotective.

“Children live a very cocooned life, they play in indoor facilities, so exposure to the outdoors is limited. But physical activity should be ingrained.”

cmalek@thenational.ae

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A fraudulent investment operation where the scammer provides fake reports and generates returns for old investors through money paid by new investors, rather than through ligitimate business activities.

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The%20specs
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Director: Magizh Thirumeni

Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra

Rating: 4/5

 

BULKWHIZ PROFILE

Date started: February 2017

Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: E-commerce 

Size: 50 employees

Funding: approximately $6m

Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait

COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlmouneer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dr%20Noha%20Khater%20and%20Rania%20Kadry%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEgypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E120%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%2C%20with%20support%20from%20Insead%20and%20Egyptian%20government%2C%20seed%20round%20of%20%3Cbr%3E%243.6%20million%20led%20by%20Global%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Astra%20Tech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbdallah%20Abu%20Sheikh%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20technology%20investment%20and%20development%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20size%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24500m%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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German intelligence warnings
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Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

Indoor cricket in a nutshell

Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai

16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side

8 There are eight players per team

There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.

5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls

Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership

Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.

Zones

A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs

B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run

Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs

Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full

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8 traditional Jamaican dishes to try at Kingston 21

  1. Trench Town Rock: Jamaican-style curry goat served in a pastry basket with a carrot and potato garnish
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Quarter-finals

Saturday (all times UAE)

England v Australia, 11.15am 
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Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

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Born: near Sialkot, Pakistan, 1981

Profession: Driver

Family: wife, son (11), daughter (8)

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