Dubai, UAE:In line with its leading role as a promoter of employee wellbeing, du has entered into the Global Corporate Challenge, an annual walking competition that encourages participants to be more active while transforming corporate culture around the world, for the third year. du's participation follows the objectives of its employee wellness programme under the umbrella of its Every Step Counts national wellbeing campaign, which recently received second place in the Idea of the Year Awards' Health and Safety category. du was the only private organisation to be recognised at the Awards.

Throughout the duration of the four month challenge, which began on 28 May 2014, 15 teams comprising seven du employees each will work towards a daily objective of walking 10,000 steps. Each participant's steps are tracked via a pedometer provided by the Global Corporate Challenge.

This year's 105 participants take the total number of Global Corporate Challenge participants from du over the past three years to more than 600.

"We value the health of our employees, and are focused on the importance of occupational health throughout our organisation," said Dr Mansoor Anwar, Director, Medical and Occupational Health Services, du. "Participating in the Global Corporate Challenge, combined with our continued internal endeavours to encourage our employees to adopt healthier lifestyle habits, we hope to highlight the benefits of being active. Not only is it good for the body, but it stimulates the mind, too."

Following the success of its earlier Biggest Winner weight loss competition, du's clinic launched a second round that has attracted more than 250 employees to participate - 30 more than those who took part in the first competition. The new edition of the Biggest Winner competition will also measure the participants' fat loss percentage, as well as the amount of weight lost.

Dr Mansoor added: "We are keen to encourage our employees to increase their levels of activity, through friendly competitions that provide the perfect incentive for them to get involved."

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