Doha – October 9, 2023: Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) hosted the sixth edition of Lifestyle Medicine Week, an initiative designed for the community to raise awareness about the importance of adopting a healthy lifestyle. These encompass recommended behavioral practices such as regular physical activity, a nutritious diet, effective stress management, restorative sleep, social connectedness, emotional resilience, and cessation of tobacco and other risky substances.

Organized by WCM-Q’s Institute for Population Health (IPH), the annual week-long event consisted of workshops, competitions, and interactive activities that focused on demonstrating positive lifestyle habits that help prevent, treat, and manage chronic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, hypertension, and improve overall health and wellbeing. 

Titled 'Kick off a Healthier Lifestyle,’ the event was hosted at Multaqa (Education City Student Center), with the official inauguration led by Dr. Javaid Sheikh, dean of WCM-Q. Attendees participated in several physical activities, including qigong, music and movement, a plank challenge, stretching, a lemon and spoon race, and an obstacle course. Participants were also exposed to stress relieving and relaxing methods, which included laughter yoga, mindfulness, breathing exercises, and arts and crafts activities such as painting and coloring. Storytelling sessions were also held.
 
Another activity, dubbed ‘Get Connected Trivia Quiz,’ brought teams together in a contest that demonstrated the significance of social connectedness, emotional resilience, and overall health. 

Two online competitions, ‘Cornell Cook-off’ and ‘Say Yes to Life and No to Tobacco and Addictive Substances’ garnered huge interest. IPH received several submissions for healthy meals and posters advocating for people to quit tobacco products and other addictive substances.
 
Dr. Ravinder Mamtani, WCM-Q professor of population health sciences and vice dean for population health and lifestyle medicine, and professor of medicine at the Center for Global Health, said: “Lifestyle Medicine Week was developed to help raise awareness about how lifestyle modifications can have a positive impact on the overall health of the community. For the sixth consecutive year, we have organized this event to make people conscious of how their behaviors affect their health and how unhealthy habits can put them at risk of serious medical conditions. Chronic lifestyle diseases can be prevented, treated, and even reversed by making responsible lifestyle choices.”
 
Commenting on the uniqueness of the event, Dr. Sohaila Cheema, associate professor of clinical population health sciences and assistant dean at IPH, said: “The week-long event served as a platform to inform the community in an enjoyable way while providing invaluable insights into adopting healthy lifestyle habits. Our goal extended beyond individual wellbeing; we sought to empower the community to make lifestyle modifications that will significantly impact their overall health.”