Leading pharmaceutical company is promoting fitness as a way of life

Manjula Ramakrishnan

While we have a more aware population today, exercising is often the last priority on people’s list. It is time to change this, stresses Jerome Carle, general manager of Julphar. The leading pharmaceutical company is on a mission to promote fitness through their Julphar Healthy Living Campaign.

“The UAE is one of eight Middle Eastern countries that collectively have the highest global ratio of obesity among adults at 27 per cent with 40 per cent of the total population affected. Obesity is linked to an increased risk of cancer, heart and liver disease and diabetes.

“These figures should serve as a wakeup call for us all. Health is important at any age and it’s never too late to develop a healthier lifestyle. Everyone needs to take control of their own health, choose nutritious foods where possible, and start to do more physical activity.”

Julphar’s volunteers handing out water to marathon runners.

What is Julphar Healthy Living Campaign?

The Julphar Healthy Living campaign is designed to inspire people to lead a healthy lifestyle. The campaign is a fresh approach to health and wellbeing with various activations, educational brochures, road shows and seminars, social media engagement and active lifestyle tips.

What prompted this concept?

We decided to launch this initiative because of the growing number of cases of childhood obesity, the high prevalence of diabetes and alarming rates of cardiovascular disease. As the UAE’s national pharmaceutical company, we are committed to helping people live longer, healthier and happier lives.

We have a special relationship with families and their health and wellbeing is important to us. One of the best things we can do is communicate the importance of a balanced lifestyle in an engaging and simple way. We are listening to our patients, customers and our staff and we are committed to taking leadership action where we can make a difference.

What are the various competitions planned to motivate people?

We kicked off our campaign by supporting the RAK Half Marathon in February. We had teams of volunteers handing out water to runners and almost 100 of our own staff competed in the race. We followed that up with our sponsorship of the region’s biggest cycling challenge, the UAE Tour, as the competition’s official supplier.

Around 50 staff also participated in the “Tough Mudder” challenge in Ras Al Khaimah, a gruelling 25-obstacle race. In addition, our company football team – the Julphar Stallions, are currently competing in the Pharma Cup 2019.

Later this year, representatives from Julphar will visit local schools and hospitals in the UAE to give educational tips on lifestyle changes and healthy eating. In addition, Julphar will be launching various social media competitions to further engage consumers and encourage them to stay fit and choose healthier options.

What are the lifestyle modifications that you would recommend?

A person’s overall wellness is directly proportional to productivity and being healthy can provide an everyday boost to mental, physical and emotional wellbeing. The workplace is where many people spend the majority of their time; so employers have a vital role to play in helping their employees be healthy.

In the long run, if employers take steps to improve the wellbeing of their workforce, it will help with employee retention and motivation.

Can you explain initiatives such as stepathlon?

For the stepathlon, we plan to begin a company-wide race in the next few weeks. It is a 100-day virtual race, which motivates participants to achieve a daily 10,000-step goal using principles of gamification and engagement. In addition, we are looking at things like health and safety in the workplace, back pain prevention and mental wellbeing.

How best will social media be used as a tool to spread awareness?

We have a strong following on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram; so those are the channels we will be using to engage with the public and encourage them to participate in our initiative. In addition, Julphar will be adding active lifestyle tips to our website.