Record 2.2 million participate in the sixth edition of Dubai Fitness Challenge

Held from 29 October to 27 November 2022, the annual health motion featured an in depth vary of free health occasions and actions throughout the town. The Challenge provided an exhilarating month of enjoyable and inclusive health actions throughout two health villages, DP World Kite Beach Fitness Village, and RTA Last Exit Al Khawaneej Fitness Village, in addition to 19 neighborhood health hubs, a number of sporting occasions and 1000’s of free lessons throughout the town.

In addition, members had an opportunity to participate in two mega health occasions on Sheikh Zayed Road — Dubai Ride Presented by DP World, and Dubai Run Presented by Mai Dubai — along with the inaugural Expo City Dubai Sports and Fitness Weekend, providing over 45 associate sporting occasions and greater than 13,000 free health lessons. The Fitness Villages and Fitness Hubs alone have been attended by greater than 263,000 members who had the chance to have interaction in numerous actions starting from Padel tennis and soccer coaching to rowing and spinning, aside from a number of enjoyable high-energy group exercises, appropriate for all health ranges.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed stated: “With the conclusion of the Dubai Fitness Challenge, I want to mirror on the superb accomplishments of the two,212,246 members who made a dedication to their well being and well-being by participating within the inspirational health motion. The members have set an instance for committing to enhance their well being and well-being and contributed to reworking the health mindset of your complete neighborhood. I wish to thank each particular person, authorities company, enterprise and organisation who contributed to or took half on this initiative. Together, we’re effectively on the way in which to changing into the fittest metropolis on this planet. While the problem is over for an additional 12 months, I encourage all of you to remain lively and proceed your health journey by embracing the whole lot our nice metropolis has to supply.”

Ahmed Al Khaja, CEO of Dubai Festivals & Retail Establishment, stated: “Since its inception six years in the past, DFC has impressed quite a few success tales of health and wellness journeys, from these simply getting began, to health lovers who’ve achieved new milestones. DFC will proceed to be a supply of inspiration and encouragement for the residents, residents and guests of Dubai, encouraging them to decide to a more healthy and extra lively way of life. To see a report 2.2 million members this 12 months is actually inspiring — together with nearly 35,000 cyclists for Dubai Ride and over 193,000 runners for Dubai Run on Sheikh Zayed Road. As we glance again over the past 30 days, it’s actually exceptional to see our metropolis’s dedication to prioritising well being and well-being. I want to thank everybody who made this occur for the sixth version of Dubai Fitness Challenge. It is a really particular initiative and one I’m immensely proud to be a part of.”

Saeed Hareb, General Secretary of Dubai Sports Council stated: “With 2.2 million folks participating on this 12 months’s Dubai Fitness Challenge, we have now as soon as once more demonstrated our fixed dedication to sustaining our bodily and psychological well being as one neighborhood working collectively in the direction of one aim — a fitter and more healthy future for all. DFC was designed to offer everybody the chance to benefit from the unimaginable vary of health services the town has to supply, whereas difficult each other to succeed in new targets and embrace a extra lively way of life. The small modifications made, and wholesome habits began, throughout DFC don’t want to finish when the problem does. I encourage everybody to proceed prioritising their bodily and psychological well-being all through the entire 12 months. The sixth version of Dubai Fitness Challenge has been one other resounding success and I want to thank everybody concerned for this unimaginable achievement.”

Since its inception, Dubai Fitness Challenge has seen a gentle enhance in curiosity and engagement with the variety of registered members rising over 180% from 786,000 within the inaugural occasion in 2017 to 2.2 million within the 2022 version. Participants in Dubai Run elevated 176% from 70,000 runners within the inaugural version in 2019 to 193,000 in 2022. Cyclists participating in Dubai Ride elevated 75% from 20,000 in 2020 to 34,897 in 2022. The annual occasion makes Dubai the one metropolis on this planet that gives its residents and guests a complete month of free and inclusive health lessons, actions and occasions, that are simply accessible throughout the emirate.

Over the final 5 years, the Dubai Fitness Challenge has had a big influence on elevating public consciousness concerning the position of bodily exercise in enhancing well being and lowering way of life illnesses. Dr. Ramadan Al Blooshi, Acting Director of the Public Health Protection Department on the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) stated: “At a neighborhood degree, Dubai Fitness Challenge has helped considerably elevate public well being consciousness and instill a greater health mindset locally. The occasion has inspired folks to undertake easy however efficient way of life habits. Such public health-driven consciousness actions play a vital position in altering the main target of neighborhood members from post-diagnosis care to prevention of way of life illnesses. This not solely improves the life-style of the neighborhood but in addition straight helps mitigate the influence of way of life illnesses on the well being system.”

Year after 12 months, the citywide annual health initiative has delivered its goal of positively impacting social well-being via a broad spectrum of wellness, sporting and health actions. According to a post-DFC survey carried out following the 2021 version, members reported immense psychological advantages together with optimistic vanity (28 per cent) and reinforcement of psychological well-being (25 per cent). The DFC survey confirmed that 52 per cent of general members logged between 30-60 minutes of exercise a day, whereas 24 per cent pushed themselves additional and clocked in additional than 60 minutes a day. Overall, 88 per cent of all DFC 2021 members reported attaining their 30×30 targets.

In parallel to the expansion of the Dubai Fitness Challenge, the emirate has additionally expanded its neighborhood sporting infrastructure and free health and way of life services throughout the town. The Roads and Transport Authority introduced earlier this month that it’ll enhance the community of its biking tracks from the 542km achieved within the first quarter of 2022 to 819km by the top of 2026, as a part of the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan. The public even have entry to working and biking tracks and train tools in each parks and seashores. Dubai Municipality has developed working tracks in numerous parks presently extending to a complete of 37.7km, whereas bicycle tracks in parks lengthen 15.7km. A complete of 12km of strolling tracks have additionally been developed by Dubai Municipality in public seashores. The biking and working tracks have confirmed to be extraordinarily widespread with about 1.86 million folks utilizing them thus far in 2022.

The rising health consciousness of the Dubai neighborhood can be mirrored within the emirate’s rising commerce in sports activities merchandise. The worth of Dubai’s international commerce in sports activities tools in 2021 reached AED1.22 billion, whereas within the first ten months of 2022 (January to October), international commerce in sports activities tools reached AED1.1 billion.