Shoppers in Dubai Mall were last month invited to participate in a Guinness World Records™ title attempt by having their blood glucose levels tested.
The event marked the launch of the One Heart Health Community awareness initiative established to educate UAE residents about heart related illnesses and communicate the common risk factors.
Endorsed by Dubai Health Authority, Dubai Diabetes Centre, Emirates Diabetes Society and the Emirates Cardiac Society the campaign will engage the public online through Facebook, twitter, blogs and a new mobile application ‘Break-Up’ designed to help users track lifestyle change and gain motivation through peer support and tracking.
The Most Blood Glucose level Tests in Eight Hours record title was achieved thanks to the 8,675 mall-goers who came to be tested by the 80+ nurses installed in booths in the shopping centre’s Star Atrium.
“This was the perfect start for what is a very serious initiative to underline to people from all walks of life in the UAE the risk factors of heart-related illnesses and the importance of a healthy lifestyle,” said Mohamed Hammad, Founder and Managing Director at Benchmark Middle East, FZ-LLC, the initiator of the One Heart Health Community.
“We’re delighted to have claimed a new Guinness World Records title and we will go all out to take two more over the next few months. But we won’t lose sight of the fact that our main objective of all of this is to persuade as many people as possible that heart disease can be prevented if positive changes are made in their daily lives.”
The next two Guinness World Records title attempts scheduled for August and November this year are the Most Blood Pressure Readings and the Most Cholesterol Readings. Mass-participation record title attempts are an ideal way to evangelise initiatives such as health screening because the goals are entirely congruent. The event caught the attention of the Emirates press with coverage across numerous top titles including: Trade Arabia, Khaleej Times, Gulf Today, Zawya and Sahil Online.
Ahmed Abo Al Fadl, Marketing Director at event sponsor Merck Serono, a biotechnology and pharmaceutical chemistry leader, explained: “Educating individuals about all of the risk factors, such as hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, obesity, tobacco use and lack of physical exercise, is key to reducing the number of people who suffer from cardiovascular disease across the region.”
