Doha, Qatar (July 16, 2014) – Aspetar annual ‘Fasting for Health’ campaign has proved incredibly popular across the Gulf region as thousands of men, women, and children participated in the first week of programme. Aspetar re-launched ‘Fasting for Health’ due to the positive feedback received in previous years’ editions. The month-long campaign aims to encourage fasting residents to remain active and continue playing sports throughout Ramadan through useful health tips and tricks. The campaign not only targets Qatar, but the entire Gulf region. Every day, more than 8,000 individuals read the comprehensive guidelines provided by Aspetar’s experts, and in the first week alone, more 4,000,000 people accessed the tips in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. The information is published on Aspetar’s website and its social media pages, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The tips were created by a team of highly qualified experts at Aspetar. The hospital has also created a comprehensive fasting calendar, or ‘Imsakiyah’, which includes prayer times, and is available to download online. Mr Abdulla Saeed Al-Mohannadi, Health Promotion Researcher at Aspetar, commented: “The ‘Fasting for Health’ campaign is just one of the many activities organised by Aspetar for Ramadan. The overarching aim of the multifaceted programme is to communicate with as many people as possible, both locally and regionally, to raise awareness of the importance of good health during the Holy Month.” The ‘Fasting for Health’ campaign also encourages residents to stay fit by providing the public with a range of fun, recreational activities, including ‘Walk More, Walk the Malls’. The initiative was re-launched in June and offers residents the opportunity to exercise by walking in shopping centres across Qatar, and take advantage of the air-conditioned corridors. Another example includes ‘Walking at Aspire Dome’, which allows residents to explore the state-of-the-art facility in the evenings, after the fast is broken. Both activities are part of Aspetar’s wider social initiative, ‘Step into Health’, which, has to date, seen nearly 32,000 members walk over 9.4 billion steps, the equivalent of 6.5 million kilometres. Finally, Aspetar has also published a one-off special issue of the ‘Step into Health’ magazine entitled ‘A Healthy Ramadan’. The publication includes a number of health tips and important information designed to help people stay in good health during Ramadan.