ABU DHABI // Young Emiratis need more local role models to motivate them to lead a healthier lifestyle, says a health activist who is diabetic.
Abdulla Al Hashidi, 22, a final-year finance student at Zayed University, has been looking at ways to encourage his compatriots to eat healthy food and become more active.
He was spurred to act after finding a lack of public interest in advertisements and health campaigns.
Before interviewing fellow students for his health advocacy project, Mr Al Hashidi sought advice from experts at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City and the Imperial College London Diabetes Centre, and collected data online.
“The rising number of young people with diabetes is scary,” he said. “When you ask the health authorities what they are doing to prevent this they say they have dieticians and advertising to promote healthy living, but that’s not enough.
“If someone were to tell me to eat healthily just because it’s good for me, it wouldn’t be enough.”
Mr Al Hashidi, who manages his diabetic condition by exercising and cooking his own food, began thinking of ways to make his message more palatable to local youth.
“It needs to be pitched in a way that appeals to their nationalism, that being healthy enables them to better serve their country,” he said.
“I wondered who would be the role models for the young UAE generation and I thought of the sheikhs.
“Recently Sheikh Mohammed [bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces] cycled at Yas Marina Circuit.
“He is a great role model that young men respect and look up to.”
There are 745,940 diabetics in the UAE, according to the International Diabetes Federation.
Mr Al Hashidi, who conducted more than 30 interviews with students, found no enthusiasm among Emiratis for leading a healthier lifestyle.
Three interviewees who had diabetes even kept their condition a secret.
“Some of the people simply try to pretend they are healthy, so they fool themselves into thinking they have normal lives,” said Mr Al Hashidi.
“There were a couple of people who told me they were diabetic and I was shocked, as I had no idea.
“It’s like a taboo. Many people don’t even tell their friends. It’s a very serious issue that needs to be addressed.”
Mr Al Hashidi hopes to continue his research and collect more data to take to community majlis sessions in Abu Dhabi and raise awareness about diabetes.
“It’s not going to be solved overnight. The UAE has been doing a lot of campaigns and opening facilities like Yas Marina Circuit,” he said.
“You can drag a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. You need to attract people who have a lot of influence with the youth to make these campaigns beneficial.”
Khalid Al Kayoumi, 19, an engineering student at Khalifa University, agrees that lectures and publicity campaigns are not enough.
“Role models are so much more effective. Just telling people to be healthy isn’t enough,” he said.
“They need to see a clear example of a guy as a role model to talk to and guide them to see the difference that they get from living like that.
“There’s a lack of these role models and yet there are so many unhealthy young Emiratis, those with diabetes, smokers, people who are totally inactive.”
Mr Al Kayoumi, who has type 1 diabetes, has taken it on himself to act as a role model for his friends.
“My friends are only motivated by me and they have got a sense of competition from seeing what I do in the gym, playing sports,” he said.
“Not only in my physical appearance but in my health, my ability to manage my disease and even how it has impacted well on my studies.”
Connie Van Horne, Mr Al Hashidi’s adviser at Zayed University, said research on diabetes was important.
“Diabetes costs society in terms of increased healthcare costs and lost time of productive citizens, but also takes an incredible social cost from a preventable disease,” Ms Van Horne said.
“Further research needs to be done of course, and research with all categories of young people to develop evidence-based programmes to target young people before their life expectancy is less than their parents.”
mswan@thenational.ae