Students at King Abdulaziz University organized a campaign to raise awareness about the benefits of leading an active life.

Twenty-five students under the supervision of professor Pahaa Abaalkhair and Dr. Hussain Al-Bar organized the campaign, “Get up and move”.

Around 120 participants completed the 5-kilometer walk outside the university hospital.

“Raising awareness about the importance of exercise is the first step to becoming an active individual,” said Abdullah Alahwal, a medical student.

“It was impressive how quickly the campaign was put together. We are grateful to our partners for promoting the event and providing great prizes like the iPhone 5,” said Sultan Al Balawi, lead student organizer.

Mizan Health Group supported the event through a Twitter and Facebook campaign.

“We wanted to help promote the event to support the medical college,” said Dr. Rayan Karkadan.

“It’s a genuine event lead by students and we hope to see increased support throughout the campaign,” added co-founder Dr. Obai Al Bashir.

Campaign leader Dr. Hussam Al Bugamy stressed upon the importance of educating the public about leading an active and healthy lifestyle.

“We live in a rich country with great medical facilities, but we suffer from a lack of awareness regarding healthy living, which is accelerating the rise of obesity and diabetes,” he noted.

The campaign will continue next Saturday at Red Sea Mall.