Public gyms can cut medical bills

Dr. Noha Dashash, consultant family physician at the Directorate of Health Affairs in Jeddah, has called for the establishment of open gyms for men, women and children in residential districts to fight obesity and protect the public’s health.
She made the proposal while addressing the Youth Forum and a large number of young Saudi men and women attending the event welcomed the idea and asked authorities to implement it quickly. According to Dashash, open gyms would also help cut short the medical bills of families.
“We have presented the proposal to the Ministries of Health and Municipal and Rural Affairs and they have offered all out support,” she told Arab News.
Dashash emphasized the significance of the project, which has been implemented in Turkey and many European countries, in light of the growing number of obese men and women in the Kingdom.
The obesity rate among Saudi women has reached 44 percent, among men 26.4 percent and girls 18.3 percent. About 40 percent of medical bills are paid for obesity-related diseases, she pointed out.
She said regular exercise would help reduce weight, strengthen muscles, and prevent osteoporosis (weakness of bones). She said the proposed public gyms would be made available free of charge. “The project plan is ready and we are waiting for some sponsors to finance it. In the beginning we intend to set up two gyms and see how it works,” she said. A single gym will cost about SR 200,000. “There will be separate sections for men, women and children. It would be free and open day and night and designed to meet our cultural requirements.”
Dashash stressed the importance of encouraging children to exercise, as it instills healthy habits and an active lifestyle in the youth at an early stage of their lives.
The proposal has been widely welcomed by Saudis and expatriates. “Most Saudi women stay at home without work. This is one of the reasons for the increasing rate of obesity among them. The establishment of public gyms in neighborhoods is a good proposal. It will certainly play a big role in protecting public health, especially that of women,” Mansoor Sajid, president group finance and control at Alhamrani Group, told Arab News.
Sajid called upon municipalities to take the initiative to implement the project with the support of businessmen and businesswomen. Such centers will also create new job opportunities for Saudi men and women as managers and supervisors. “This project will contribute to reducing diabetes cases in the Kingdom,” he said. About 30 percent of Saudis are diabetic.
“This is a very important project,” said Shaima Farra, an architecture student at Effat University. “It will give us an ideal place to exercise, which is essential to improve our health and prevent diseases. We need it in Jeddah and elsewhere in the Kingdom. It will also provide a venue for social gathering,” she said.
The free exercise machines in Istanbul parks have turned out to be an immense hit with the public. Hundreds of machines, including cross trainers, treadmills as well as machines for arm, shoulder and back exercises, have been installed since the program started in 2005, and many big and small cities across Turkey have followed Istanbul’s example.