‘Beat Diabetes’, The Bengaluru Walkathon

Life

oi-Denise Baptiste

By Denise Baptiste

Tuesday, November 23, 2010, 13:29

The global call for action against diabetes came alive in Bengaluru on Sunday as over thousands of people took part in walkathon organised by Lifestyle, in close co-ordination with brands like - ING Insurance (insurance Partner), Johnson & Johnson (healthcare partner), Britannia NutriChoice (nutrition partner), Himalayan (water partner), Fitness One (fitness partner), Apollo Hospitals (medical partner) along with Landmark Group companies Max, Spar Supermarkets & Hypermarkets and Gloria Jean"s Coffees.

The event drew participants from all walks of life, for a common objective - 'Beat Diabetes'. Seen shouldering the cause were prominent personalities from the city like Ramya Barna, Rohit Giri, Upendra, Priyanka Upendra, Tarun Chandra, Dr. Ashwathnarayan, C.N. Nirmal Mandoth and many more.

As early as 6.30 a.m. participants thronged in thousands to participate in the walk organized at Kanteerva Stadium. The free blood glucose screening test centers at the event also recorded a large number of patronage as over hundreds of people took the test between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Sunday.

Commenting on the initiative, Mrs. Renuka Jagtiani, Vice Chairperson, Landmark Group said, "Beat Diabetes aims to increase awareness about diabetes and help people lead healthy lives. With Diabetes affecting over 300 million people worldwide, we felt we could make use of our large network of stores to bring awareness about the condition. We have introduced Beat Diabetes initiative in 6 countries this year and have received unprecedented support everywhere. We are proud to have made a far-reaching impact to be able to initiate people into becoming more health conscious"

Added Mr. Kabir Lumba, MD, Lifestyle International Pvt. Ltd, “We are overwhelmed with the response; it"s great to see Bengaluru come together to shouldering the cause. This enormous turnout for the first edition is ample proof that initiatives like Beat Diabetes can make remarkable impact in creating awareness about prevalent lifestyle diseases like Diabetes and influencing people in making healthy choices."

Beat Diabetes is a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative by Landmark Group. As a first step in a series of initiatives to drive awareness about Diabetes, free blood glucose screening tests were conducted across 10 Landmark Group stores and 3 Fitness One outlets in the city during November 11 - 14, 2010.

The campaign concluded today with a walkathon which witnessed participation from thousand of Bangaloreans. By encouraging people to test their blood glucose levels and taking part in a physical activity such as a walkathon, it highlights two aspects which play significant role in fight against diabetes – early detection of aberration in blood glucose level through periodic tests and regular exercise.

Landmark Group first launched the Beat Diabetes initiative in 2009 in the UAE, citing the wide prevalence of this condition, across the Middle East and the Indian sub-continent region. This year the campaign has transcend boarders as it spans across five new countries - Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and India (Bengaluru), in addition to the UAE. In 2011, the campaign will also move to other countries where Landmark Group has a presence.