DOHA: Qatar Museums (QM) has launched a new Healthy Food Initiative designed to raise awareness on maintaining a healthier lifestyle and eating habits.
The initiative is an innovative programme designed to increase awareness amongst Qataris about leading a healthier lifestyle and has been developed under the visionary guidance of H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chairperson, Qatar Museums, with support of Alain Ducasse whose first Middle Eastern restaurant, IDAM, is at Museum of Islamic Art.
Qatar has one of the highest rates of adult obesity and diabetes in the world, and the initiative aims to increase awareness and understanding among parents, teenagers and children about the importance of a balanced diet and eating well. It seeks to highlight the link between being overweight, diabetes and other illnesses. It also conveys positive messages about healthy eating habits and demonstrates that healthy food can be easy and appealing too.
Sheikha Al Mayassa said: “The international food festival provides the ideal opportunity to highlight the relationship between food, healthy eating, exercise and wellbeing. We’re delighted that leading figures such as Valerie Espinasse and Alain Ducasse have chosen to back our initiative. With their involvement and support, we hope to engage as many people as possible in taking positive steps to eat well and lead a healthy lifestyle.”
Espinasse explained how to improve health and well-being by simply changing some eating habits while Ducasse discussed how to balance great tasting food with eating well, and how to encourage children to eat healthily.
As part of the wider initiative, three children’s workshops have been held at the festival from Wednesday until today. Up to 20 children took part in each workshop led by trained coaches and designed to educate youngsters on healthy eating, organic foods and leading a healthy lifestyle. Workshops took place in the healthy food zone and included activities such as planting seeds and making smoothies after which each child was given a certificate, chef’s hat and their own plant pot of seeds to take home.
Kicking off the healthy eating initiative at Qatar’s museums and as part of a long-term programme, MIA Café is launching a series of recipes that have been developed through a unique collaboration with a selection of lifestyle and food bloggers from the local community. The brand new, updated menu will be featuring a range of healthy eating options.
QIFF features the children’s play My Health is in My Food by Baraem TV, alongside the Health Court at MIA Park where visitors can also receive health checks and advice from professionals on how to stay fit.The Peninsula
