Ras Al Khaimah: To mark the World Diabetes Day, RAK Hospital and Dubai’s RAK Diabetes Centre have rolled out a month-long campaign titled the ‘Blue Ring Challenge’, inviting UAE residents to free blood sugar screening (RBS).
Blue Ring Challenge will practically demonstrate how regular exercise can help reduce sugar levels by testing the levels before and after some physical activity.
The campaign was inaugurated at RAK Hospital, offering screening to all employees of Arabian Healthcare Group and taxi drivers of Ras Al Khaimah. It was extended to Dubai Police on Tuesday at Al Mamzar Park, is being offered to the general public and corporates at Dubai RAK Diabetes Centre on Wednesday, and to corporates in Ras Al Khaimah on Thursday.
“We read a lot about diabetes and physical activity, but through the Blue Ring Challenge, we want to show the results practically.” said Dr Zain Gulzar, consultant endocrinologist at the hospital.
Visitors can get their blood sugar tested prior to a 20-minute exercise regime — comprising cycling, brisk walking, swimming, skipping, jogging, zumba or any other cardiovascular exercise. Twenty minutes later, they can get themselves retested to check how far the levels of blood sugar have reduced. On an average, diabetic patients will see their blood sugars drop by 20 per cent after just 20 minutes of exercise, while the drop will vary in non-diabetics. This will drive home the importance of staying active in a far-more effective manner.
Residents can also register for the challenge online and get a diabetes health screening voucher worth Dh700 for just Dh1, which they can avail either at RAK Hospital or the Diabetes Centre. As a CSR activity, the RAK Hospital and Diabetes Centre will also add Dh1 for each registration — irrespective of whether people avail the screening or not — and the entire amount will go towards creating programmes and awareness campaigns against diabetes,” said Dr Yasmin Shaikh, group marketing head, Arabian Healthcare Group and RAK Hospital.
Dr Raza Siddiqui, CEO of Arabian Healthcare Group and executive director of RAK Hospital, said: “This year, we want to encourage people to take stock of their health. This is why we have kept the Blue Ring Challenge open for diabetics and non-diabetics.”
He added that the hospital was also approaching corporate houses to perform the Blue Ring Challenge on their premises since employees of corporates generally lead a very sedentary lifestyle.
