Al Khor Mall and Hyatt Plaza are the latest facilities to sign up to Aspire Zone Foundation’s (AZF) new ‘Walk More…Walk in Malls’ initiative, which encourage people to lead active, healthy lifestyles by exercising in shopping malls. The partnership with Al Khor Mall and Hyatt Plaza was announced at a signing ceremony recently. Regional Director of Lulu Hypermarket and Al Khor Mall in Qatar and Egypt, Mohamed Althaf, said: “We commend Aspire Zone Foundation’s commitment to helping the people of Qatar adopt healthy lifestyles, and its attempt to find ways to overcome obstacles that prevent exercise, like the heat and time limitations.” “We are delighted to extend all our support to Aspire Zone Foundation’s mall walk initiative. With our close proximity to Aspire Zone, participants can now consider us as a part of their favourite aspire park and extend their walk to the interior comfort of Hyatt Plaza,” said General Manager of Hyatt Plaza Shopping Mall, Feroz Moideen. The initiative, which will enable people to continue exercising during the summer, kicked off at Villaggio and Landmark, the first malls to sign up to the programme. Since then, Al Khor Mall and Hyatt Plaza have also joined and have demonstrated AZF’s attempt to reach out to communities outside Doha. In addition, each circuit will be clearly marked by comprehensive signs and maps, and flyers will be handed out containing further information about the programme. Al Khor Mall and Hyatt Plaza will launch ‘Walk More…Walk in Malls’ on June 22. Due to kick off at 8am, the events will feature an array of activities designed for the whole family. At Villaggio, the ‘Walk More…Walk in Malls’ programme saw an overwhelming success, with hundreds of participants attending the event to learn more about the initiative. During the launch, as an incentive, participants were entered into a prize draw to win a selection of covetable items including iPhones, Samsung Galaxies, iPad Minis and vouchers. The first 100 participants to complete the circuit received free pedometers from AZF, while members of Aspetar were also available to give free medical checks to participants. The track is designed to take approximately 30 minutes, burn around 150 calories, and includes an estimated 3,000 steps. Prize winners included Atef Mohamed Mansoor, Binod Kumar, Ayman Mostafa, Isahaq Ibrahim Isahaq, Mahmoud Abd el Salam Ahmed, Mahmoud Mohamed Saeed, and Alaa Mostafa Khalaf. Mohamed Saad, a Qatari participant, said: “I don’t exercise often, but the initiative has encouraged me to take up walking. I recently visited the United States where I noticed people regularly walk to maintain physical fitness. I’d like to thank Aspire Zone for its effort in publicising this initiative. This is the first Aspire programme I have participated in, but I’m determined to get involved with other programmes developed by the organisation.” ‘Walk More…Walk in Malls’ has been created as part of AZF’s self-managed lifelong programme, step into health. Designed to encourage members of the community to walk to fitness, the aim of the programme is for participants to walk at least 10,000 steps a day in a non-competitive, recreational and social way. http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/qatar/241903-malls-join-to-make-people-%E2%80%98walk-more%E2%80%99.html

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