Fitbit In The UAE Leads A Record-Breaking Initiative At The Dubai Fitness Challenge 2022

This year the Dubai Fitness Challenge (DFC) 2022 was bigger and better than ever and saw a record number of over 2.2 million residents taking part in the wide array of free fitness activities between 29-Oct – 27 Nov 2022. For the fourth consecutive year, Fitbit supported and helped UAE residents to take on new challenges while sharing information about the importance of listening to one’s body in order to feel truly powerful.

Fitbit also brought back their Climb Together Challenge – a stair-climbing workout challenge, that saw Kite Beach Fitness Village participants climb 264,671 stairs or approx. 37,800 meters vertical height. This achievement is equivalent to 4.25 times the earth’s highest mountain – Mount Everest, which stands at the certified elevation of 8,848.86 meters above sea level [2]. The Climb Together Challenge promoted the importance of taking stairs at our home or office and helped in achieving the 30 minutes of daily physical activity goal for individuals during DFC.

This year, Fitbit also introduced a Quick jog experience that required participants to jog as fast they can, on the spot for 60 seconds. An activity that saw participants of all ages spot jog with all their energy, amassing over 1 million jogs in just 30 days. Fitbit helped residents look at their health in a holistic manner and learn about the significance of looking inwards and identifying their bodies’ needs – so that they are able to cater not only to their physical but also to their emotional wellbeing.

Commenting on the great contribution by the community at the Dubai Fitness Challenge 2022, Prateek Kewalramani, Head of Marketing, Fitbit – MEA at Google said, “DFC is a wonderful initiative and is a great way for all residents to continue or kickstart their fitness and wellness journeys. Based on aggregated Fitbit data, our users in the country exceeded the DFC’s 30 minutes activity goal this year by 17%, averaging 35 active minutes per day for each day of the challenge. It continues to give residents the opportunity to embrace an active lifestyle and helps the residents to build a fitness community through activities like Dubai Ride and Dubai Run for staying motivated beyond DFC.”

Ahmed Al Khaja, CEO of Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment said, “Since its inception six years ago, DFC has inspired many success stories related to physical and mental health for participants of all ages and fitness levels. We were pleased to cooperate with Fitbit once again this year, as a long-standing strategic partner of the DFC. Fitbit truly contributed to motivating the participants during the challenge, and as a result, supported in making Dubai one of the most active cities in the world”.

As the Official Health and Wellness Partner of the DFC, Fitbit kick-started the challenge this year with a surprise fitness mob at City Centre Deira where 100+ dancers surprised fellow mallgoers and encouraged them to join the challenge. Fitbit also hosted a month-long series of group and individual fitness classes at the new Fitbit zone – a multi-level fitness area at the Kite Beach Fitness Village, where each floor was dedicated to different styles of fitness including the popular Fitbit Rebounder. Further, throughout DFC, Fitbit users in UAE also increased their daily average step count by 5% covering a distance of over 5 km a day.