We try to do what we can, even if we don’t see tangible results. Over the weekend, we participated in Dubai Holding’s Sky Run – a vertical marathon which is the third highest race in the Vertical World Circuit this year. The climb was 52 floors and 1,334 steps or 265 metres, up Jumeirah Emirates Towers. The objective of the run was to promote wellness and to support Al Jalila Foundation which is backing obesity research in the UAE, which is a major concern in the UAE and region.

365 people participated, raising over AED91,000 + whatever they would have got from sponsors (final amount not yet disclosed). The winner did it in 7 minutes 18 seconds! Stewart did it in just over 15 minutes; I did it in just over 19 minutes.

An estimated 4.8 million UAE residents — nearly half of the population — are overweight. According to WHO, in 2014, more than 1.9 billion adults, 18 years and older, were overweight. Of these over 600 million were obese.

Also according to WHO, obesity can lead to cardiovascular diseases (mainly heart disease and stroke), which were the leading cause of death in 2012; diabetes; musculoskeletal disorders and some cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon).

The WHO has a Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health, along with a toolbox to help nations implement health policies addressing obesity.

If this cause interests you, there are a number of organisations working towards addressing this issue, a list to start with here.