You can feed the hungry by 'donating' your weight

Dubai - VLCC to donate 1kg food pack for the poor for every kilo lost by participants

Think you're worth your weight in gold? A recently-launched campaign is challenging people to prove their worth by "donating" their excess weight to feed the hungry, even as they work hard to reach slimming targets.
"Donate Your Weight", the 30-day campaign by wellness brand VLCC, was launched in the Middle East recently with Emirates Red Crescent. This coincides with a one-month anti-obesity drive of VLCC in 13 countries, where the company has a presence.
The initiative has been organised with the active involvement of the medical fraternity. Its objective is to create awareness about the ill-effects of obesity and guide people to lead a healthy life. VLCC has been observing Anti-Obesity Day on November 26 for about 30 years.
"For every kilo lost during the anti-obesity drive in VLCC's UAE centres, the company donates a 1kg food pack for the poor and the hungry that Red Crescent takes care of, " said Sanjeev Setia, VLCC's chief business officer Middle East.
"We're now set to 'donate' 850kg of food packets to the Red Crescent in lieu of the 850kg of weight so far lost in our GCC centres in the initial 15 days of the drive."
"It is high time that we showed a commitment to healthy lifestyle habits. Our weight loss campaign not only prompts people to cut down weight and proactively lead a healthy lifestyle, it also gives them an opportunity to be part of a noble initiative to feed the hungry," said Vandana Luthra, founder and co-chairperson of VLCC.
The campaign in the UAE also seeks to address increasing cases of obesity. Media reports earlier this year cited a study by Zayed Military Hospital that found nearly 70 per cent of Emirati male adults under 30 are obese.
"We are happy to join hands with VLCC to give an opportunity to our youth to be part of a great effort to remove poverty and hunger. Your gift, while helping you shed excess weight, will ease suffering and provide lifesaving nourishment to the needy," said Emirates Red Crescent.
VLCC's anti-obesity campaign in all its centres includes organizing health camps, mass counseling sessions, and talk-shows with health experts, besides extensive media interactions and dissemination of special literature on obesity.
- news@khaleejtimes.com