60% Of UAE Residents Exercise Three Times A Week

UAE residents are taking their lifestyle choices seriously a new report has shown, with 60 per cent taking part in some form of sporting activity at least three times a week.

The findings, which will please health specialists across the country, show 34 per cent of residents hit the gym on a regular basis while 30 per cent choose a more calming activity such as pilates or yoga.

Team sports and social activity is favoured by 24 per cent of those polled, seven per cent prefer one-on-one training with a personal fitness instructor while five per cent are happy to keep fit with a DVD.

The study by dmg Events Middle East was commissioned in the build-up to The Life & Style Show at the end of the year – the region’s biggest lifestyle event.

“Our research provides real insights into the prevailing attitudes towards wellbeing amongst UAE residents,” said Ashley Roberts, event director at dmg Events.

“What the results reveal is a significant commitment towards fitness in the UAE which is in stark contrast to current popular perceptions.

“Clearly a significant proportion of the population likes to achieve balance in their lives by working hard, playing hard and looking after themselves.”

The survey will be good news to the UAE’s medical professionals who have been championing regular exercise as a way of combating the country’s rising levels of obesity and diabetes.

In last year’s ‘Global Fat Scale’, the UAE came seventh out of 177 countries while the World Health Organisation warned that 20 per cent of UAE adults are overweight or obese.

In parallel with rising obesity levels comes increased cases of diabetes; type two diabetes is a direct result of health and lifestyle choices.

The United Nations Children’s Fund warned earlier this year that it expects the rate of diabetes across the MENA region to increase to almost 59 million people by 2030. There are currently 34 million sufferers in the region.

Five of the GCC’s six nations feature in the top 10 countries in the world for the most prevalent levels of the disease.