Therefore, Aspetar, the orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital specified that the workplaces are recognized as a potential setting for health promotion to reach-out to the adult population and encourage active healthy working environment.

The campaign ran between 4 November 2018 and 31 January 2019, welcoming over 3,000 participants from 15 different entities, such as: Aspire Zone Foundation, Public Ministry of Health, Qatar Airways, Qatar Financial Centre, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, Meeza, Ras Laffan Power Company, and Dolphin Energy.

During the celebratory event, Director of the Exercise Medicine Department, Abdullah Saeed Al-Mohannadi, said:

The Step into Health initiative at Aspetar is considered a world-class programme that is recognized on an international level and is designed to promote an active and healthy lifestyle.

The healthy productive living has been recognized as one of the main components of Qatar’s National Health Strategy 2018-2022. Aspetar, a member of Aspire Zone Foundation took the leading role in promoting active healthy living and reducing the burden of chronic lifestyle-associated diseases among the population of Qatar.

Al-Mohannadi explained that the programme teaches self-management and encourages individuals to walk over 10,000 steps a day through recreational and social activities. Since its launch in 2012, the programme saw more than 48,000 participants.

During the event, Dr. Izzeldin Ibrahim, Head of the Community Health program talked about Aspetar’s initiatives launched by the department of exercise medicine, most notably the publication that comprised of guidelines on physical activity and health nutrition.

The workplace initiative aims to encourage employees to choose walking as an easy option to meet these physical activity guidelines and to improve their health and support the fight against non-communicable diseases.

About Aspetar:

Aspetar is a world leading specialised orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital, and the first of its kind in the Middle East. Since 2007, with a world expert team, the hospital has provided top-level comprehensive medical treatment to all athletes in a state-of-the-art facility that sets new standards internationally.

In 2009, Aspetar was accredited as a “FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence” by F-MARC. In 2013, Aspetar was adopted as a reference collaborator centre by the Gulf Countries Council (GCC) Health Ministers Council and “IOC Research Centre for Prevention of Injury and Protection of Athlete Health” in 2014.

In 2015, Aspetar has been recognised as the “IHF Reference Centre for Athlete and Referee Health”. In the same year, the hospital also achieved the obtained on December 15 the Accreditation Canada International (ACI) “Platinum Level”.

Aspetar is a member–organisation of Aspire Zone Foundation, Qatar’s innovative sports and healthy lifestyle destination.