DUBAI // The winner of last year’s Weight in Gold competition has shed a further 25 kilograms after taking part in this year’s event.
Ahmed Al Shiekh, a 28-year-old Syrian, dropped to 111.9kg from 137kg during the two-month healthy living campaign that Dubai Municipality organised.
Participants receive a gram of gold for every kilogram of weight lost. Families who register will receive two grams of gold for every kilogram of weight lost.
The results of this year’s event are expected to be announced next week.
Mr Al Shiekh won about Dh10,000 by shedding 26kg over six weeks last year. The thought of winning did not motivate him to participate in this year’s competition.
“I don’t mind if I win or not, it’s not why I do this,” he said. “I want to lose weight and I hope that I can inspire other people to lose weight too.”
His method for losing weight was simple, he said – eat vegetables and healthful food, swim a lot and play basketball.
“Lots of people called me this year and wanted me to use their medicine to help me lose weight,” he said. “I want to show people that you don’t need any of those things. You just need clean food and healthy exercise.”
The Syrian said he would continue his weight-loss efforts over the coming months and hoped to slim down to under 100kg next month when he visits his family in Britain.
His cousin, who lives in Saudi Arabia, lost 37kg over three months. Although he was unable to compete in the event in Dubai because he was not a UAE resident, the Saudi resident said he was planning to visit his brother in Dubai to cheer him on when the awards are announced.
About 28,000 people signed up for this year’s competition, up from 9,600 last year.
Dubai’s municipality paid out 16.872kg of gold worth Dh2.63 million to 3,224 participants last year.
Mr Al Shiekh said he was disappointed at losing less weight this year, saying it was harder to lose weight the slimmer he became.
He said he had always intended to lose weight but was not driven to do so until the municipality began offering gold rewards.
“It’s really very generous and I think it has inspired many people to do more exercise and be more healthy,” he said.
mcroucher@thenational.ae
