UAE seeks to break Guinness record

Visitors at The Dubai Mall aim at a new Guinness record for the most blood sugar level tests in eight hours. One Heart Health Community and Dubai Health Authority hosted the bid on Sunday. — KT photo by Mukesh Kamal

Humaid Owais clutched a red-and-white paper ticket as he waited at The Dubai Mall for his turn to get his blood sugar levels tested.
“I got a 240 mg/dl,” the 45-year-old Pakistani said after the test. “The doctors tell me I am pre-diabetic. I plan on doing exercises and eating right to keep my diabetes in control.”
Owais was among the thousands of UAE residents who stood in line at The Dubai Mall to try and break a Guinness world record for the most blood glucose level tests in eight hours. The bid started at 1pm on Sunday and continued till 9pm.
Guinness World Records representatives were present to monitor the attempt as more than 80 nurses performed simple blood sugar level tests on mall-goers to determine the presence or risk of diabetes.
The current record is held by the Turkish Diabetes Foundation that screened 7,024 people over an eight-hour period at an event at the Hidayet Türkoglu sports complex in Istanbul in 2012.
“About 7,025 people are needed to take part in the eight-hour screening to break the current record,” said Dr Mohammed Hamed Farooqi, director of Dubai Diabetes Centre. “Diabetes affects all parts of the body and is one of the most important risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, it is important to educate people through such campaigns on ways to prevent the disease as well as educate diabetics on ways to keep their sugar levels under control.”