DUBAI // Last year, Anis Aziz missed out on Dubai Municipality’s Your Weight in Gold campaign which rewarded people with gold for slimming down. This year he was determined to get a good start.
The 28-year-old financial manager from India was one of the first people to register on the opening day of this year’s campaign.
“It is motivation towards reducing weight,” he said. “You are winning in two ways.”
To achieve his goal of shedding 10 kilograms from his current 107 kilos, he is planning to exercise regularly.
“I am planning to run here,” he said while motioning to the beachfront jogging track of Al Mamzar Park, one of five locations throughout the city where people could register for the campaign.
This year’s campaign, Your Child in Gold, targets families with children. They will get more rewards than those participating as individuals. Each family is allowed to participate with two children below the age of 14.
Each individual participant will get a gram of gold per kilo lost, while families will get two grams for each kilo reduced. All participants must lose at least two kilos to be eligible for rewards.
Registration will continue until July 24, and can be done daily from 9pm until 12am at four other sites in Dubai apart from Al Mamzar office.
They are at gate three of the Al Khawaneej jogging track, gate two of Al Safa Park, gate three of Zabeel Park and the Al Barsha Park main entrance.
Participants are weighed during registration with their success determined after final measurements taken between September 10 and 15.
While people in the queue at Al Mamzar park on Wednesday readily admitted to a few extra kilos, Surumi Anish had a different problem. She had been planning on supporting her husband, Anish Jabbar, but was not able to register.
“She has been disqualified,” said Mr Jabbar, 30, a logistics company employee. “They said her height and weight was too low to qualify for this.”
Mr Jabbar now faces the challenge of losing 5 kilos on his own. He weighed in at 96.7 kilos, but he said his plan was to continue with his daily fast during Ramadan, and to include some exercise during the days afterwards.
The campaign attracted 10,000 people last year. This year, the municipality is hoping 15,000 will take up the challenge.
“Dubai aims to be one of the healthiest cities in the world,” said Walid Al Shaibani, head of Dubai Municipality club and coordinator of the campaign. “To achieve this big goal we need to change our food habits and promote physical activities reducing lifestyle-related diseases such as obesity, high cholesterol and diabetes.
“Children must get medical advice from the nutritionists on sites prior to registering for the contest in order to confirm their fitness to participate,” he said.
Ahmed bin Sulayem, executive chairman of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), one of the sponsors of the campaign, said the initiative aimed to attract more people this year and to encourage them to adopt a healthy lifestyle permanently.
“That is one of many reasons why DMCC is increasing its contribution to the campaign this year by providing Dh200,000 worth of gold with the ultimate goal of raising awareness of the benefits of exercise combined with a healthy diet,” he said.
People can speed up the registration process by filling out their details online on www.thedmgold.com.
vtodorova@thenational.ae
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
The team
Videographer: Jear Velasquez
Photography: Romeo Perez
Fashion director: Sarah Maisey
Make-up: Gulum Erzincan at Art Factory
Models: Meti and Clinton at MMG
Video assistant: Zanong Maget
Social media: Fatima Al Mahmoud
Zombieland: Double Tap
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Stars: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone
Four out of five stars
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
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- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
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- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Borussia Dortmund v Paderborn (11.30pm)
Saturday
Bayer Leverkusen v SC Freiburg (6.30pm)
Werder Bremen v Schalke (6.30pm)
Union Berlin v Borussia Monchengladbach (6.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Wolfsburg (6.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldof v Bayern Munich (6.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Cologne (9.30pm)
Sunday
Augsburg v Hertha Berlin (6.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Mainz (9pm)
Why are you, you?
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From this question, a new beginning.
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We connect, we inspire, we multiply illuminations
with the unique light of art.
Ben Okri,
In numbers
Number of Chinese tourists coming to UAE in 2017 was... 1.3m
Alibaba’s new ‘Tech Town’ in Dubai is worth... $600m
China’s investment in the MIddle East in 2016 was... $29.5bn
The world’s most valuable start-up in 2018, TikTok, is valued at... $75bn
Boost to the UAE economy of 5G connectivity will be... $269bn
