By Fazeena Saleem
DOHA: A new initiative launched recently across the country to promote healthy lifestyle is encouraging shoppers to buy healthy food.
Several shoppers speaking to this newspaper claimed that ‘Your Healthy Choice’ launched by The Sahtak Awalan: Your Health First campaign as useful and encouraging.
Sahtak Awalan is the flagship health campaign of Weill Cornell Medicine — Qatar and its ‘Your Healthy Choice’ was recently launched at several Al Meera Supermarkets. The campaign is held in partnership with the Ministry of Public Health. The Your Healthy Choice initiative provides comprehensive nutritional information to help shoppers prepare healthy meals for themselves and their families. It provides healthy eating tips in a clear and simple manner.
‘Your Healthy Choice’ is in four Al Meera supermarkets — Legtaifiya, Gulf Mall, Al Wakra, Thakira and Géant at Hyatt Plaza.
“It’s a good idea to remind about healthy food while shopping, because although everyone knows about nutrition and health, people don’t essentially remember it when they come to supermarkets,” said Mariel, a Filipina professional shopping at Géant at Hyatt Plaza.
Nikita Rajesh, an Indian house wife said, “It’s encouraging and educating. When someone sees the benefit of eating dairy items besides the stall, it encourages to buy products.”
Another shopper Aida said, “Its good. Usually we tempt to buy seeing advertisements and now same way this encourages to buy healthy food.”
“I bought more feta instead of cheese, let me try the difference,” she said.
Also, since Thursday health educators started to provide healthy eating information to shoppers during the weekends. They will advice shoppers about the healthiest foods to buy and also how best to maintain or lose weight at the Géant at Hyatt Plaza until today. They will educate customers next week at the Gulf Mall.
Stands and screens are displayed at different places in supermarkets with information about health benefits of a variety of foods including fruit and vegetables, dairy products, and meat and fish. It includes information such as ‘Dairy products help children to build strong bones and prevents osteoporosis in the old,’ The vitamins in the vegetables give our brains a boost. Eat different colours of veggies to get a variety of vitamins and minerals,’ ‘Apples- a fiber and vitamin rich snack,’ Compared to most cheeses, feta is low in calories and because it has a strong, salty taste, you can sue less of it.’
The nutrition information displayed is according to the Ministry of Public Health’s Qatar Dietary Guidelines.
On June 16, 17, 18, 30, July 1 and 2 health educators will be at the Gulf Mall and at the Legtaifiya Mall on June 23, 24 and 25. They will be at malls on Thursdays between 11 am and 2pm, while on Fridays and Saturdays from 8pm to 11pm.
The Peninsula
