Qatar foundation Organises hypertension awareness campaign

Qatar Foundation’s Food and Nutrition Services Department held an awareness campaign aimed at educating staff and students about how a healthy lifestyle can combat hypertension.Titled ‘Yes for a Healthier Life,’ the campaign focused on underlying causes, prevention and the role of salt in relation to high blood pressure. High blood pressure is responsible for 12.8 % of all deaths around the world, which amounts to 7.5 million people annually. In addition, 32.9 % of Qataris suffer from hypertension, one third of whom ignore their diagnosis. The awareness campaign was part of an ongoing commitment by Qatar Foundation for Education, Science, and Community Development to provide employees and students at Education City with various initiatives to improve their lifestyle for a better future.“In support of Qatar National Vision 2030, it’s our mission to address community development issues. By raising social awareness through this campaign, we aim to highlight the importance of leading a healthier lifestyle,” said Joelle Hamamji Seyoury, Food and Nutrition Services manager at the Qatar Foundation Support Services Directorate.Further explaining the significance of the ‘Nutrition Awareness Month’ campaigns, which initially started in 2006, she added: “This year, we chose to address the subject of hypertension and the role that salt plays. Through various activities, our objective is to empower our participants by reducing their sodium intake and improving their health. All of our activities cater to Qatar Foundation’s students and employees. They represent a microcosm of the larger Qatari society and therefore, the health challenges faced by the nation are also being experienced by our small community.”With the help of Qatar Biobank, a database has been created to quantify the number of people that suffer, or may suffer, from hypertension in the future. By visiting 11 different locations within Qatar Foundation, data was collected from 300 participants.In addition, a workshop was organized in cooperation with the Supreme Health Council, Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, Aspire Zone Foundation and Hamad Medical Corporation. During this initiative, three behavioral attitudes linked to hypertension were discussed, including smoking, lack of physical activity and unhealthy diets.As part of their ongoing commitment to health and nutrition, the Food and Nutrition Services Department at Qatar Foundation offers year-long awareness campaigns that target different age categories. A team of three nutrition specialists supervise a clinic that provides free health and nutrition consultations to QF students, employees and their families. The department also oversees all food services provided at QF institutions.