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So who in Dubai is exercising enough?

Dubai residents are not exercising enough to stay healthy and fit, the results of a recent survey conducted by the Dubai Health Authority, have revealed.

A worrying trend has emerged among UAE nationals above 40 years of age, said officials on Wednesday, citing the study that indicated that only seven per cent of Emiratis in the age group 40-59 years get enough exercise to stay healthy.

“This is definitely worrying because this age is the marker for chronic diseases and exercising helps in reducing the incidence of disease,” said Dr Eldaw Abdalla Suliman, Head of Research and Performance Management in the DHA’s Health Policy and Strategy Sector while commenting on the study.

The results highlight the urgent need to promote regular exercise to ward off lifestyle diseases like diabetes, heart attacks and strokes, as only 19 per cent of Dubai’s population gets sufficient amount of exercise which is required to stay healthy, said the officials.

The survey also found that women were exercising more than men while Filipinos, Arab expats and Westerners are significantly more likely to exercise than other nationalities. Younger people also significantly exercise more than older people, revealed the study.

The results are part of the overall Dubai Household Health Survey (DHHS), which is a comprehensiv survey of 5,000 households that was jointly conducted in 2009 by the DHA and the Dubai Statistics Centre.

Respondents were asked whe-ther they undertake any moderate or intensive physical activity other than their work such as running, jogging or playing any kind of sport.

“The results strongly advocate the need to promote regular exercise as just about one-fifth of our population gets sufficient exercise that is required to stay healthy and among Emiratis, only seven per cent get enough exercise to stay healthy,” said Laila Al Jassmi, CEO of Health Policy and Strategy Sector at the authority.

“This figure highlights the magnitude of the problem in terms of lack of exercise which is a key component in reducing the risk of a host of lifestyle diseases.”

Al Jassmi also said the findings would provide data on which to base the public health policies and reach out to that particular segment of society.

“We divided the exercise threshold into moderate, vigorous and combination, based on the amount and type of exercise an individual performs. For moderate exercise a threshold of 150 minutes per week was used, i.e. 30 minutes a day for an average of five days per week. For vigorous exercise a threshold of 75 minutes per week was used, i.e. 15 minutes a day for an average of five days per week,” said Dr Suliman.

The survey will be used in public health policies to promote the need for regular exercise, said Al Jassimi.

Key findings

· Only 19% of people in Dubai get enough exercise to keep themselves healthy

· Men get less exercise than women. Only 17% of men and 25% of women get enough exercise

· Among all nationalities, Filipinos, Arab Expats and Europeans get the most exercise

· Exercise levels decrease significantly with age in both sexes but especially in women.

Only 5% of UAE National women over 60 years get enough exercise to keep themselves healthy.

· A worrying result is observed for UAE National men aged 40-59 years — where only 7% get enough exercise to stay healthy

asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com