Dubai: Nearly 9,000 mall-goers took blood sugar level checks during an eight-hour diabetes screening to get into the Guinness World Records.

The screening was done at 40 nursing stations set up by the One Heart Health Community at Dubai Mall for a campaign to tackle cardiovascular disease.

The previous world record for blood sugar level checks was held by the Turkish Diabetes Foundation which screened 7,024 people over eight hours in Istanbul in 2012.

Eisa Al Maidour, Director-General of the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), expressed his thanks to stakeholders, including the Dubai Diabetes Centre, Emirates Diabetes Society, Emirates Cardiac Society, Benchmark Middle East and Merck Serono Middle East and Near East..

Al Maidour said: “At the DHA, it is our aim to carry out health education campaigns to empower the community to make the right choices with regard to their health. We are pleased this campaign has won the world record, and it is our aim to continue such campaigns on a regular basis as part of our commitment to improving community health. We firmly believe that prevention and early detection are key to ensure a healthier population.”

Dr Mohammed Hamed Farooqi, Director of the Dubai Diabetes Centre, said: “Given the prevalence of diabetes in this region and abroad, it is imperative to carry out such awareness campaigns to educate the community.”

He noted that diabetes is a disease that affects all parts of the body. “One of the most important risk factors for cardiovascular disease is diabetes. It is important to educate people on ways to prevent developing the disease as well as to educate diabetics on how to keep their sugar levels under control.”

“This was the perfect start for what is a very serious initiative to underline to people from all walks of life in the UAE the risk factors of heart-related illnesses and the importance of a healthy lifestyle,” said Mohammad Hammad, Founder and Managing Director at Benchmark Middle East, the initiator of the One Heart Health Community.

A team of 80 nurses were kept busy at the Saturday event as a steady flow of shoppers stepped up for blood sugar level checks in The Dubai Mall’s Star Atrium, during the public holiday to celebrate Isra Wal Mairaj.

The campaign is initially focused on cardiovascular disease, the world’s biggest single killer, which accounted for a quarter of all deaths in the UAE in 2012.

The campaign will now be expanded to engage UAE residents online through Facebook, blogs, Twitter and a new mobile phone application, ‘Break-Up’. This new app helps individuals track changes in their lifestyle such as exercising at home and limiting junk food consumption.