For the second consecutive year, Qatar First Bank (QFB), Qatar’s first independent Shari’ah compliant bank authorized by the QFC Regulatory Authority, kicked off its annual Corporate Wellness Program in the run up to the 3rd Qatar National Sports Day on Tuesday 11 February 2014.
QFB launched the month long Corporate Wellness program last year to encourage employees to embrace a healthy and active lifestyle in the spirit of the Qatar National Sports Day. This year along with other activities and in collaboration with “step into health”, QFB will introduce the B Active Challenge. The aim of the B Active Challenge is to encourage employees to become more active in their daily lives.
The B Active Challenge is a month long competition that follows Step into Health by Aspire program where employees are encouraged to walk at least 10,000 steps which is considered by health practitioners to be the benchmark whereby an individual is considered to be active. QFB is facilitating the registration of its employees in the challenge. Each registered employee will receive a pedometer from step into health program or download their smartphone application through which their progress will be monitored on the step into health website. Winners of the challenge will be announced during the National Sport Day event.
Mohamed Al Sahli, Head of Communications at QFB said “At QFB, we support Qatar’s national drive in becoming a more active and healthier nation. Studies have shown that regular physical activity can increase motivation and improve productivity in the workplace. As such on an annual basis we develop new sport initiatives that encourage our staff to become more active. Our B Active Challenge this year aims to educate our employees that little physical activity can help in changing their lifestyle and contribute to their overall wellbeing. We thank step into health for their assistance in facilitating this challenge.”
Dr. Mohammed Ghaith Al Kuwari, Director of the Healthy Lifestyle program at Aspetar, commented on this initiative “We applaud this initiative undertaken by QFB. At Aspire Zone Foundation, we continuously aim to find ways in which we can inspire members of the Qatari community to enhance their fitness levels and transition smoothly into a healthier lifestyle. To do so, we build on all our accumulated knowledge, resources and expertise.” Then he added: “Workplaces such as QFB are a real target for our step into health program that aims at encouraging people to take 10,000 steps a day or more. As we know that office work really limits our ability to meet the required physical activity level to prevent diseases. We applaud QFB for taking this initiative and we look forward to seeing more companies fall in their footsteps.”
To mark the third Qatar National Sports Day, QFB will host an outdoor staff event that will involve a series of sports activities including a mini-Football tournament and leisure games.