Dr.Javaid Sheikh (center) during the inauguration of Kick-Off a Healthier Lifestyle.
The Global Institute for Population Health (GIPH) at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) hosted the ninth edition of Lifestyle Medicine Week, an initiative designed to raise awareness of the importance of adopting a healthy lifestyle.
The annual week-long initiative featured a diverse array of activities, including competitions and interactive sessions focused on promoting healthy lifestyle habits to help prevent, treat, and manage chronic diseases such as obesity, Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and hypertension, while improving overall health and well-being.
Titled “Kick-Off a Healthier Lifestyle,” a one-day, in-person event was officially inaugurated by Dr Javaid Sheikh, dean of WCM-Q, at the college. Dean Sheikh emphasised the growing importance of lifestyle medicine in healthcare worldwide, and thanked GIPH for organising the event. The event included several fun, interactive activities promoting key aspects of lifestyle medicine, including physical activity, a healthy diet, stress management, restorative sleep, social connectedness and avoidance of risky substances. Attendees also had the chance to win gifts through raffle drawings throughout the day.
Another activity, dubbed the “Get Connected Trivia Quiz,” brought teams together for a competition highlighting the importance of social connectedness, emotional resilience and overall health.
Two online competitions also formed part of the activities. The “Cornell Cook-Off” was a healthy cooking competition in which participants showcased their culinary talents through video submissions. The second activity, titled “Say ‘Yes’ to Life. Say ‘No’ to Smoking and Addictive Substances,” aimed to raise awareness of the harmful effects of tobacco and other addictive substances. Participants were invited to submit creative entries, such as photos, infographics, memes and posters for a chance to win prizes.
Dr Ravinder Mamtani, WCM-Q professor of population health sciences and vice-dean for population health and lifestyle medicine, said: “For the ninth consecutive year, Lifestyle Medicine Week has provided a valuable platform for raising awareness of how lifestyle choices can directly influence health and well-being. The growing body of scientific evidence supporting the effectiveness of lifestyle medicine in preventing, managing and, in some cases, reversing chronic conditions such as heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, cancer and mental health disorders is extremely compelling.”
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