The fifth edition of the national initiative “Walk 30” for the year 2023 has achieved wide participation from citizens and residents in all the kingdom’s cities and regions, coinciding with the launch of the initiative by His Excellency the Minister of Health, Mr. Fahd bin Abdul Rahman Al-Jalajel, yesterday at the Digital City, Riyadh, as part of the largest health and sports gathering in the Kingdom.
The event began at the Digital City's gathering area, where the participants were received and welcomed. Then, the event was launched at 4:30 pm up to 5:00 pm for thirty minutes on the circular walking trail, accompanied by a set of activities, including taking souvenir photos.
In a remarkable interaction with the walking 30, the Kingdom’s regions and cities have witnessed field activities walking for 30 minutes. This indicates the success of the initiative in stimulating the practice of walking for half an hour daily, in order to achieve the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030, towards building a vibrant society, achieving a better quality of life through a sustainable healthy lifestyle, and raising public health rates by increasing the average lifespan of the population. The Kingdom has already achieved an increase in the average lifespan of an individual, reaching 77.6.
The “Walk 30” initiative aims to establishing walking behavior among citizens and residents of the Kingdom, measuring community awareness and knowing their cognitive and athletic levels in the practice of walking, as well as facilitating the walking for 30 minutes daily for community members, and raising awareness of its importance and health benefits. The scientific studies have proven that practicing physical activity on a regular basis reduces the risk of heart disease by about 35%, and it also protects against diabetes by up to 58%.
It is noteworthy that the “Walk 30” initiative was first launched by the Ministry of Health in 2019. The 2022 edition witnessed the participation of the WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. During the previous years, the number of participants reached about 16,000 throughout the Kingdom’s regions.