Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, as part of her two-day visit to the country, along with a team of doctors, facilitated the educational programme for the children as part of a multifarious ‘Diabetes Knowledge Action Campaign’ (DKAC), organised by the Abu Dhabi-based Imperial College London Diabetes Centre (ICLDC) and the Emirates Foundation (EF). The campaign was launched on the ICLDC premises in order to educate children about diabetes, and encourage healthy eating habits.

‘I Eat Right 2008’ is the second phase of the campaign that began in February 2007. This year’s campaign would continue for the next 24 weeks in schools in Abu Dhabi to target 600 students.

The facilitators of the session provided the children with information regarding diabetes, and discussed obesity as a major cause of the chronic disease. The children were given a ‘Lunch Box Quiz’, which was aimed at getting them to think about which foods to choose as part of a healthy lifestyle, and a ‘Smart Lunch Box’ that contained healthy food.

During the educational session, the enthusiastic children from Abu Dhabi International School (AISA) participated actively in the discussion asking questions about what constituted healthy eating. The discussion was especially pertinent to the lives of these children, as the rate of diabetes in the UAE is a staggering 19.5 per cent, making it the second highest in the world.

Observers suspect that the prevalence of diabetes in the country is due to a sedentary lifestyle with little exercise in addition to poor food choices. However, the good news is that everyone has the power to prevent diabetes, as 80 per cent of diabetes cases are preventable through living a healthy lifestyle, according to experts.

Sarah Ferguson said she participated in the campaign because she believed in empowering each child to change and become the voice that would direct the whole family towards healthier choices.

The Duchess, who is fourth in line to the British throne, has been a children’s advocate and a promoter of healthy living around the world. Addressing the Press, she said she was a ‘Duchess on a mission’ and added, ‘I will provide free breakfasts and free lunches to children around the world that is going to be my legacy. I am determined about it; it really annoys me when children go to school without breakfast. I want everybody to wake up to the fact that it’s not only about obesity, but more about every minute of the day healthy living.

‘One of the key things is listening to your child and looking for symptoms of why they are turning to food as a way of getting attention and the most important things are be loving, to listen and to care,’ she advised parents and caretakers.