“Lighten Up” school visits starts with Doha Middl School
Students interact with EQUATE Initiative for a Healthy Society
EQUATE’s Initiative for a Healthy Society (Lighten Up) kicked off its school visits campaign. Lighten Up’s first visit was to Doha Girls Middle School, where volunteering employees of EQUATE Petrochemical Company and members of Kuwait Obesity Association talked to students about the benefits of staying fit and healthy.
Part of EQUATE Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Program, Lighten Up is an anti-obesity initiative to spread awareness regarding the benefits of maintaining a healthy diet and an active lifestyle. Launched last January , Lighten Up’s first phase included public service announcements via television, radio, newspapers and magazines as well as website (
www.khaffif.com).
Attending the event, Doha Middle School Principal Aamal Al-Ruwaishid lauded EQUATE CSR effort, emphasizing the need to spread obesity awareness among the students.
EQUATE Vice President for Technical Services and head of EQUATE CSR Team, Mr. Mahmoud Al-Qattan said: “This initiative aims at creating awareness about the dangers of obesity, as well as highlighting the importance of following a healthy lifestyle through proper dieting habits, maintaining the right weight and exercising.”
Al-Qattan added that Lighten Up is part of EQUATE CSR Program which has already launched several sustainable development initiatives in various fields, such as the breast cancer awareness campaign and plastic awareness campaign.
During the visit, Dr. Majda Al-Qattan, Family Medicine Consultant and member of Kuwait Obesity Association delivered a lecture about obesity and how to fight it.
Dr. Al-Qattan noted that the Food Research Organization in Kuwait has found that over-weight percentage in Kuwait has recently reached 80%, urging everyone to calculate their Body Mass Index (BMI). She explained that we calculate the height in centimeters and the weight in kilograms and then do a certain calculation. If the BMI is within the range of 25-29.9, the case is considered over-weight and if it exceeds that, then the person is considered obese.
At the end of the lecture students and teachers participated in a question and answer session, where Kuwaiti Obesity Association members answered diet related questions.
EQUATE Petrochemical Company is a World Class producer of polyethylene and ethylene glycol. Established in 1995, EQUATE is a Kuwait-based joint venture between Petrochemical Industries Company, The Dow Chemical Company, Boubyan Petrochemicals Company and Qurain Petrochemical Industries Company. (more)
Through its CSR Program, EQUATE has earned His Highness the Amir Award for the Best Plant in Kuwait, the Award of Best Gulf Company in Recruiting Nationals, as well as Kuwait’s CSR Award in the Industrial and Oil Sector. In addition, it has received the Highly Commended Best Community Program Award during the First Middle East CSR Award Summit held in Dubai.