Dubai is one of the few cities in the world that have been mentioned in the Guinness records book more than once. It is known as the home of the world’s tallest tower, largest mall, biggest fireworks display and even the longest line of sandwiches. Dubai has once again managed to break a world record. This time, however, is has nothing to do with skyscrapers or shopping. The city’s latest Guinness record is health-related and it has to do with a good cause. Dubai broke the record for the diabetes screenings. The city was the first to make nearly 8,700 screenings in less than eight hours. Representatives from the Guinness World Records were also present in order to monitor the event.
The Guinness record was broken this Sunday, when 8,675 people were screened for diabetes in Dubai. The event took place at another Dubai record-breaker – The Dubai Mall. The screenings were made only in a span of eight hours thanks to the impressive number of nurses who participated in the cause. Over 80 medical professionals screened shoppers who have stopped by the mall.
The screenings started at 1 p.m. and continued until 9 p.m. this Sunday (25 May). They consisted of a blood glucose level test which basically measures the amount of sugar in a person’s organism. This type of test is used in the diagnostics of diabetes and prediabetes. Interestingly, the event was of an awareness campaign, which had the purpose to promote healthy living and raise awareness for a number of common health diseases.
The previous record in this category was held the Turkish Diabetes Foundation, which managed to screen 7,024 people for the same amount of time in Istanbul in 2012 for. Just like the record set in Dubai, the event in Turkey also took place at an unusual venue – a popular sports complex.
But while 8,675 screenings may sound pretty impressive, that is only a small percentage of the number of The Dubai Mall’s daily visitors. Every day the malls welcomes about 200,000 people. Still, 8,600+ tests in one-third of a day is quite impressive.
Dubai does not hold many health world records. One of the latest in this category was achieved a few months ago, when the city organized the marathon with the greatest amount of participants who are medical professionals. Again, the goal of the event was to promote healthy and active lifestyle in the region.
