choose the lifestyle!
DESCRIPTION
A strategic communications campaign promoting public health amongst young Emiratis.TRANSCRIPT
Choo s e t h e L i f e s t y l e ! Strategic Communication Campaign Alia Almidfa 200819267 COM 451 501
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T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s Executive Summary 2
Research
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Strategy
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Tactics
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Evaluation
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Bibliography
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E x e c u t i v e S u m m a r y The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) mission is healthy people in healthy communities. The DHA is implementing a strategic communication campaign to counteract bad nutritional habits and promote healthy living in the UAE. The slogan for the campaign is “Choose the Lifestyle!” The UAE has witnessed immense economic growth; this growth was accompanied by an increase in nutrition-‐related diseases. These diseases are serious illnesses and include: cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and hypertension. Young people particularly are leading unhealthy lives. A typical diet contains high amounts of fats, salts, sugar, and cholesterol. The DHA’s campaign aims to be Emirati’s youth portal to a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle. The goal is enhance the youth’s awareness on the importance of a balanced diet. The second goal is to be the number one source of health and nutrition related information. To achieve these goals three objectives are adopted: 1) Increase awareness by hosting educational events in 5 of Dubai’s higher education institutes. 2) Increase awareness by using social media to promote the campaign. Also as a tool to share and provide information on health and nutrition. 3) To encourage action by obtaining subscribers to an e-‐newsletter produced by the campaign.
The campaign will enlist three spokespeople: Dr. Ali Singel (Vitamin TV host), Sarah Queen (from Nutrition Matters Arabia), and Spontaneous Euphoria (anonymous food blogger). The tactics selected to achieve the mentioned objectives are a mix of interpersonal tactics (educational events), organizational media (media releases; e-‐newsletter; miscellaneous print media), social media tactics (blogging and Twitter), and news media tactics (tip sheet and fact sheets). The campaign’s tactics intend to reflect the youth’s interest by relying heavily on social media. The campaign will appeal to reason by presenting data and numbers on Emiratis’ current health conditions, as well as appealing to emotion by concentrating on thoughts of improvement and self-‐worth. The campaign aims to educate Emirati youth on correct nutrition, and assist them find a beneficial replacement to their present food régime. The campaign will run over the course of 5 months. The predicted costs for the program add up to 5,550 AED.
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Research Phase 1
S i t u a t i o n a l A n a l y s i s Emiratis are not leading healthy lives. The Dubai Health Authority
decided to develop an integrated strategic communications plan to deal with public health through nutrition in order to increase young Emiratis awareness of health and wellbeing.
Public health is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “not merely the absence of disease but a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-‐being” that will enable the public “to lead socially and economically productive lives” (Kaufman, 2007). In an article published in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization, the nutrition advisor of the Eastern Mediterranean Region claims that there is a lack of awareness when it comes to diet and lifestyle choices in the United Arab Emirates (Reid, 2010).
The Arabian Gulf countries have witnessed massive economic growth; along with that growth nutrition related diseases have increased as well. These diseases include: overweight and obesity, and non-‐communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and hypertension. The UAE along with Saudi Arabia has one of the highest rates of hypertension in the world. Also, the UAE has the highest frequency of type-‐2 diabetes (Ng et al, 2011).
A typical diet in the Arabian Peninsula today resembles western eating habits that contain great amounts of cholesterol, fats, salt, and sugars. A study conducted in Dubai revealed that 22.9% of female adolescents in the UAE are obese, while 20.2% of males are obese. (bin Zaal, Musaiger, & D’Souza, 2009). In 2010, there were 194 reported cases of mortality due to endocrine, nutritional, and metabolic diseases in the Abu Dhabi alone (Health Statistics).
According to research findings mentioned previously, the UAE is far from achieving public health. Public health is dependent on the community’s views, ideas, and actions. Healthy nutritional habits can prevent deaths from major diseases. Promoting nutritional information and beneficial dietary habits is an integral step in preventing public health problems (Kaufman, 2007).
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O r g a n i z a t i o n a l A n a l y s i s The DHA was founded in 2007 to serve as a tactical authority in
Dubai under Law 13 issued by Vice President of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed Al Maktoum. The DHA has the power to issue rules and tactics to reach health objectives of Dubai. The DHA manages Dubai’s health sector including subsidiary health facilities such as Rashid Hospital and the Dubai Diabetes Center (Dubai Health Authority, 2010a).
The DHA’s mission is “healthy people in healthy communities.” This aligns with the definition of public health mentioned above. Furthermore, its mission states that the authority shall “ promote, and enhance sustainably the health and well-‐being of citizens, residents as well as visitors of Dubai through an integrated program of services, information, education, research and practices” (Dubai Health Authority, 2010b). The DHA aims to achieve its mission through many objectives. The public health campaign is one of them.
The campaign would be an opportunity for the DHA to position itself in the public’s mind as an active entity that cares for the public’s wellbeing. The campaign will be a demonstration of the authority’s broader vision and a stepping-‐stone for achieving its mission.
P u b l i c ’ s A n a l y s i s The DHA`s key publics are Emirati citizens, residents, and visitors of
Dubai (Dubai Health Authority, 2010b). The communication’s plan promoting public health in the emirate is
focusing on a narrower set of public’s. Since roughly 50% of Emirati nationals are between the ages of 20 and 34 (Dubai Statistics Center, 2010), the campaign’s primary public is young Emiratis living in Dubai between the ages of 18 -‐ 30. Secondary publics of the campaign would be Emirati teenagers (13 -‐19).
The producers are employees in the Public Relations department of the DHA. Other producers would be a number of volunteers who are university students in Dubai recruited to help with the execution of the campaign. The main enabler is the Government of Dubai. Other enablers include: The Ministry of Health, The Ministry of Higher Education, Dubai Media Incorporated, and social media channels. Limiters of the campaign are the different fast food outlets in Dubai, and food brands that sell products high in sugar, fats, and calories as well as processed food. Another limiter would be the advertisements that promote unhealthy food choices.
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Intercessory publics for this campaign will include formal and informal opinion leaders. The formal opinion leaders are doctors employed by DHA health centers. The doctors will introduce publics to the campaign. They would also provide them with basic information about the campaign. Informal opinion leaders are Emirati bloggers interested in lifestyle and social issues in Dubai and the UAE. They would be link between the campaign and Emirati social media users. Ideally, the bloggers will influence key publics to engage with the campaign.
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Strategy Phase 2
G o a l s a n d O b j e c t i v e s Goals:
§ Enhance key public’s awareness of the significance of proper nutrition.
§ Make available information on achieving a healthy diet to key publics through different channels.
Position: This campaign hopes to be Emirati youth’s portal to a healthy diet and lifestyle. Objectives:
§ To have an effect on awareness; specifically by hosting a series of events in 5 of Dubai’s key higher education institutes aiming to introduce the campaign to Emirati students over a period of 5 months. An attendance of at least 25% of each institutes’ student body is expected.
§ To have an effect on awareness; specifically by using social media channels to promote the campaign. The campaign will have a blog instead of a website, alongside a twitter account. These channels would provide daily health and lifestyle information relevant to Emirati youth. Also, the social media channels would serve as an interactive tool connecting the target audience and health professionals participating in the campaign from Dubai Health Authority.
§ To have an effect on action of Emirati youth in the campaign; specifically to obtain at least 100 unique subscribers to the campaign electronic newsletter available on the official blog during the campaign’s first month.
P r o a c t i v e S t r a t e g y § Involve key publics in the campaign using social media platforms
and a monthly e-‐newsletter service.
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§ Implement a series of special events in 5 of Dubai’s Higher Education institutes that will include healthy diet seminars and healthy cooking tutorials.
§ Form alliances with Emirati lifestyle bloggers focused on healthy nutrition and lifestyle.
R e a c t i v e S t r a t e g y § In the case of inaccurate information, an apology would be issued
and displayed on all communication channels. § If necessary, restitution would be granted to those affected by the
inaccurate information.
M e s s a g e S t r a t e g y In its current public health awareness campaign targeting Emirati youth, Dubai Health Authority will use the following spokespeople.
Dr. Ali Singel, Director of Medical Services at Dubai Police, and host of “Vitamin” television Show on Dubai TV. Dr. Singel will be perceived as credible because of rank in Dubai Police, as well as longstanding talk show on Dubai TV that deals with family medicine and the common diseases in the region. He is also a fellow at Harvard Medical College. He is calm yet authoritative speaker. He is perceived as a trustworthy and friendly person due to his popularity on television. Because he is an Emirati, the target public would relate to him. Sarah Queen, Director of Nutrition Matters Arabia. Queen is a consultant nutritionist who has experience in corporate nutrition. She was behind many weight-‐loss programs in the UK. In addition, Queen is an established speaker on healthy eating awareness in schools. She has worked with a number of health clubs in the UAE as a consultant. In her free time, she runs a blog as well as a twitter account updating the two channels with all things related to nutrition. Her bright personality and experience will aid Queen to be perceived as a trustworthy source. Spontaneous Euphoria (screen name), food blogger. Spontaneous Euphoria is an anonymous food blogger based in Dubai UAE. She is a half-‐Emirati 20-‐year-‐old International Studies student. She has
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over 700 followers on twitter, and her blog is widely read with over 70 regular subscribers. Her cooking and baking expertise will be used to develop healthy alternatives to popular dishes among Emiratis. She will be perceived as friendly trustworthy relatable source, since she is an Emirati student akin to the key public. The campaign will present both rational and emotional appeals.
Rational Appeals
§ A factual proposition based on current information on Emiratis’ health conditions.
This message will include statistics and research analyses that will demonstrate the current level of health of young Emirati nationals.
Emotional Appeals The campaign will employ positive emotional appeals focusing on improvement and esteem appeals. The campaign will be demonstrate how a wholesome diet can improve a person’s health and elongate their lifespan. Also, it will aim to instill self-‐worth and pride through the adoption of a healthy lifestyle. Here’s an outline of the verbal and nonverbal communication strategies for the campaign:
Verbal Communication § One point of view will be presented: A healthy diet is cornerstone
for a long fulfilling life. § A conclusion will be drawn: Emirati youth should eat healthier. § A Fog Index level of 12th grade would ensure message clarity. § Target public is students at the undergraduate level. § Messages will include power words such as “balanced lifestyle” and
“nourishing nutrition.” § Slogan: “Forget the diet, choose the lifestyle.” § Messages will avoid exaggeration.
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Nonverbal Communication § The campaign’s unique logo will be presented in the messages. § The Dubai Health Authority’s logo will be presented in the
messages. § Campaign’s spokespeople will be dressed according to smart casual
dress code, reinforcing accessibility to the target public yet maintaining professionalism.
§ In all campaign events, a set would be built employing a modern youthful design style that would appeal to target public.
B r a n d i n g Young people in Dubai are leading unhealthy lives. They are bombarded with different food choices. Whether it’s that fast food ad in the local newspaper, or the news of a new restaurant opening up in one of the shopping malls. It seems they are making all the wrong choices when it comes to their health. Our campaign aims to enlighten young Emirati nationals when it comes to diet and nutrition. First by educating them on proper nutrition, and second by helping them find the healthy alternatives of calorie-‐laden trans-‐fat full food. This is not your ordinary health campaign; there will be no boring lectures or dull websites. Our campaign will mainly take place where the youth are; social media. It is not about telling people what to do; it’s about helping them make the right choice. Forget the diet, CHOOSE THE LIFESTYLE.
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Tactics Phase 3
S u m m a r y o f P r o j e c t S t r a t e g y The strategy aims to increase awareness among Emirati youth about the importance of a healthy diet and lifestyle, as well as making information on how to lead a healthy lifestyle available to the target public. This will be executed through events in Higher Education institutes, social media presence and activity, and an electronic newsletter. The campaign enlisted three spokespeople: Dr. Ali Sengal (hosts a medical TV show on Dubai TV), Sarah Queen (director of Nutrition Matters Arabia), and Spontaneous Euphoria (anonymous food blogger). The events will include healthy diet seminars and healthy cooking tutorials. The campaign’s slogan is “Choose the lifestyle!” It will incorporate rational appeals by presenting facts and statistics on Emiratis’ current health conditions, as well as emotional appeals by focusing on feelings of improvement and self-‐esteem. The campaign will educate Emirati youth on proper nutrition, and help them find healthy alternatives to their current diet staples. There will be no boring lectures or dull websites. Instead, the campaign will use social media outlets, specifically blogging and twitter to reach the target audience.
S t r a t e g i c C o m m u n i c a t i o n T a c t i c s Objective 1: To have an effect on awareness; specifically by hosting a series of events in 5 of Dubai’s key higher education institutes aiming to introduce the campaign to Emirati students over a period of 5 months. An attendance of at least 25% of each institutes’ student body is expected. Tactics 1: i. Interpersonal tactic: educational gatherings
• A series of events will be hosted in 5 of Dubai’s key higher educational institutes, thus targeting key public (Emirati youth).
• These institutions are: Zayed University, Dubai’s Women College (HCT), American University of Dubai, American University in the Emirates, and University of Dubai.
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• The events will present our spokespeople each offering a lecture in their area of expertise.
• Dr. Ali Sengal will talk about recent medical information and statistics that prove Emirati youth are leading unhealthy lives. He will present the solutions available, followed by a Q&A session with the audience.
• Sarah Queen will present the audience with effective tools to measure how healthy their lives are (e.g. BMI calculators). She will discuss small yet effective changes a person can make to lead a healthy lifestyle.
• Spontaneous Euphoria will offer a live cooking class within the event. First, she will present healthy alternatives to common meals and snacks popular in the UAE. Later, she will perform a live cooking demonstration.
• The campaign’s social media outlets will be presented to the audience through organizational media.
• Event’s impact will be measured by the percentage of student body attending the events.
• The main advantage is the moderate cost of the event. Cost will only include: organizational media distributed during the event, signage, and cooking ingredients and utensils used in the live cooking demonstrations.
• Another advantage is audience interaction. • The only disadvantage is that the campaign will not have total
control of the venue and its resources, since the events will be held at different universities’. This might also create some inconsistencies between the events. However, the campaign will try to enforce uniform standards in all events.
• There will be a preparation period ranging from 2 to 4 weeks between each event.
• ii. Organizational media tactic: miscellaneous print media
• Signage – This will include roll-‐up banners and posters to promote the event in the selected higher educational institutes (key public, moderate cost, high visual impact).
• Brochures – These would be distributed during the event. They will provide basic campaign information, as well as links to our social media outlets (moderate cost, high visual impact).
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• These mediums will help promote the campaign and its social media outlets. It will aid in awareness, in terms of exposure and knowledge of the event. It will also lead acceptance, will be measured by the number of people who sign up to the e-‐newsletter during the days prior and subsequent to the event.
iii. News media tactic: news fact sheet
• Fact sheet would be sent to the media prior to the events. • Fact sheets would be sent to the Dubai Media Incorporated’s
sub-‐companies, specifically Al Bayan, Al Emarat Alyoum newspaper, Dubai FM radio station, Dubai TV, and Sama Dubai.
• These are chosen because their audience is predominantly Emirati.
• It is targeted towards Emirati parents, who are likely to pass on the campaign’s information to their children.
• Also, being featured in traditional media would position the campaign as a credible and trustworthy.
• A fact sheet is an inexpensive tool. • It might spark the media’s interest in the campaign, which will
lead to media coverage.
iv. News media tactic: news tip sheet
• Tip sheets would be sent to the media gatekeepers after the event. It will provide basic information on the event, along with a quote.
• Tip sheets would be sent to: Al Bayan, Al Emarat Alyoum newspaper, Dubai FM radio station, Dubai TV, and Sama Dubai.
• Tip sheets’ advantages are similar to the advantages of a fact sheet.
Objective 2: To have an effect on awareness; specifically by using social media channels to promote the campaign. The campaign will have a blog instead of a website, alongside a twitter account. These channels would provide daily health and lifestyle information relevant to Emirati youth. Also, the social media channels would serve as an interactive tool connecting the target audience and health professionals participating in the campaign from Dubai Health Authority.
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Tactics 2: i. Social media tactic: blog site
• Instead of the traditional website, the campaign will run a blog site.
• The blog will be updated daily. • Press releases would be posted on the blog. • Event news and coverage will be posted on the blog • Other content will include: daily healthy tips, healthy food
recipes, nutrition articles, fitness articles, and the latest health-‐related news.
• The blog will also include links to credible nutrition and health websites or blogs.
• Also, it will include a directory of all health related food stores, nutrition clinics, gyms, and fitness centers.
• The blog’s main advantage is that it’s user-‐friendly and easy to navigate. Plus, it is an interactive medium, which appeals more to the target audience than traditional websites. Another advantage is the low cost required to run a blog.
ii. Social media tactic: Twitter feed • The campaign’s twitter feed will aid in audience engagement and
communication. • The feed will include daily health tweets. Also, links to health
related article would be shared with the target audience. • Blog updates will be tweeted, which will increase traffic to the
campaign’s blog. • The feed will also include live tweets from all the campaign’s
events. • Twitter is the perfect social network for the campaign because; it
is similar to a news feed, which is perfect for sharing information and links. Also, Twitter is very popular among Emirati youth. Lastly, it is inexpensive.
iii. Organizational media tactic: social media release
• Press releases will be posted on the campaign’s blog. A link to the release will be posted on the campaign’s twitter feed.
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Objective 3: To have an effect on action of Emirati youth in the campaign; specifically to obtain at least 100 unique subscribers to the campaign electronic newsletter available on the official blog during the campaign’s first month. Tactic 3: i. Organizational media tactic: e-‐newsletter
• An e-‐newsletter would be sent to subscribers via email. Subscription would be available through the campaign’s blog.
• It is appealing to key publics who prefer to interact electronically.
• High visual impact – The e-‐newsletter would include many pictures and graphics.
• Low cost – Since it’s an electronic newsletter, there would be no printing and distribution costs.
• It will include articles on a healthy diet and a balanced lifestyle. Content will be created in-‐house, however audience submissions would be accepted. This will provide interaction.
P a c k a g i n g C o m m u n i c a t i o n T a c t i c s “Choose the Lifestyle!” campaign is packaged by its objectives. This is because the objectives are the most important aspect of the campaign. If the objectives were not implemented correctly, the campaign might fail. I’ve tied each tactic to the objective it seeks to accomplish. There are three objectives. The first objective aims to raise awareness through events held at selected higher educational institutions. The second objective also aims to spread awareness through social media as an informational and engagement tool. The third objective is to motivate people to take action and subscribe to an e-‐newsletter that is part of the campaign. The tactics selected to achieve the mentioned objective are a mix of interpersonal tactics, specifically an educational gathering; organizational media tactics that incorporates the e-‐newsletter, social media releases, and miscellaneous print media; social media tactics, particularly blogging and Twitter; news media tactics that comprise a news fact sheet and tip sheet. The campaign’s key publics are Emirati youth.
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I m p l e m e n t i n g t h e S t r a t e g i c P l a n
• Campaign schedule
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• Campaign Budget
Tactic Cost in AED
-‐ Events location
-‐ Free of charge – provided by the higher educational institutions.
-‐ Food Ingredients (to be used in cooking tutorials)
-‐ 500 AED per event (x5)
= 2500 AED
Print Media: -‐ Roll-‐up banners
-‐ Poster (5)
-‐ Brochures (200)
-‐ 200 (x2) = 400 AED
-‐ 30 (x 5 events) = 150 AED
-‐ 400 (x5 events) = 2000 AED
Social Media Outlets:
-‐ Blog site
-‐ Twitter account
-‐ None
-‐ None
E-‐newsletter: -‐ Design
-‐ Content
-‐ Created and produced
in-‐house.
News Media: -‐ Factsheet
-‐ Tip sheet
-‐ In-‐house
-‐ In-‐house
Miscellaneous expenses -‐ 500 AED
TOTAL -‐ 5,550 AED
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C o n n e c t i o n s The tactics selected for this campaign will achieve the strategy in the following ways:
• The interpersonal tactic consists of educational events in 5 of Dubai’s key higher educational institutions. The events will achieve the strategy by raising awareness and educating Emirati students on the importance of healthy lifestyle and what it takes to achieve it.
• The organizational media tactics includes the e-‐newsletter, social media release and miscellaneous print media. The miscellaneous print media in the form of banners and posters will assist in the promotion of the campaign’s events. The e-‐newsletter will be an informative tool full of health and nutrition related information. However, the e-‐newsletter will also be a measurement of action of the target public, specifically the number of unique subscribers to the e-‐newsletter after each event. The social media release will provide up to date information in the form of a tradition press release posted on the campaign’s blog site. It will reinforce the campaign’s idea of being youth-‐centered. It will also be easy to share since it is online.
• The social media tactics are the cornerstone of our strategy. The campaign’s blog and twitter account will promote the campaign, as well as serve an interactive informative resource.
• The news media tactics involve a fact sheet and a tip sheet. These will aid the campaign in getting press and broadcast coverage, which will give more credibility to the campaign. Also, it will increase exposure to the campaign.
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Evaluation Phase 4
The Dubai Health Authority’s ‘Choose the lifestyle!’ public awareness campaign will be evaluated and assessed according to the following plan: Objective 1: To have an effect on awareness; specifically by hosting a series of events in 5 of Dubai’s key higher education institutes aiming to introduce the campaign to Emirati students over a period of 5 months. An attendance of at least 25% of each institutes’ student body is expected.
1-‐ Advertising value equivalency will be used to measure the number of potential audience members reached through Dubai’s local media, based on the fact sheets and tip sheets sent out across the campaign’s period.
2-‐ To evaluate awareness by implementing a study across Dubai’s leading higher education institutions consisting of a campus-‐wide survey. The study will focus on message exposure and recall based on the campaign event held at each institution.
Objective 2: To have an effect on awareness; specifically by using social media channels to promote the campaign. The campaign will have a blog instead of a website, alongside a twitter account. These channels would provide daily health and lifestyle information relevant to Emirati youth. Also, the social media channels would serve as an interactive tool connecting the target audience and health professionals participating in the campaign from Dubai Health Authority.
3-‐ A benchmark study will be executed. It will employ a series of
different focus groups to measure changes in awareness and attitudes of the target audience before and after the program.
Objective 3: To have an effect on action of Emirati youth in the campaign; specifically to obtain at least 100 unique subscribers to the campaign electronic newsletter available on the official blog during the campaign’s first month.
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4-‐ Audience action will be assessed based on the number of unique number of subscribers to the campaign’s e-‐newsletter. Also, number of blog readers and twitter followers will be taken into account.
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B i b l i o g r a p h y
bin Zaal, A. A., Musaiger, A. O., & D’Souza, R. D. (2009). Dietary habits associated with obesityamong adolescents in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Nutricion Hospitalaria, 24, 4, 437-‐444.
Dubai Health Authority. (2010a). Who are we. Retrieved from http://www.dha.gov.ae/en/Aboutus/Pages/WhoWeAre.aspx
Dubai Health Authority. (2010b). About us. Retrieved from http://www.dohms.gov.ae/EN/SectorsDirectorates/Sectors/HealthPolicy/PublicHealth/About%20Us/Pages/default.aspx
Dubai Statistics Center. (2010). Populations by sex and age groups at the census – Emirate of Dubai. Retrieved from http://www.dsc.gov.ae/Reports/DSC_SYB_2010_01_03.pdf
Health Statistics. (2010). Health Authority Abu Dhabi. Retrieved from http://www.haad.ae/HAAD/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=c-‐lGoRRszqc%3d&tabid=349
Kaufman, M. (2007). Nutrition in promoting the public’s health: Strategies, Principles, and Practice. Sudbury: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
Ng, S. W., Zaghloul, S., Ali, H. I., Harrison, G., & Popkin, B. M. (2011). The prevalence and trends of overweight, obesity and nutrition-‐related non-‐communicable diseases in the Arabian Gulf States. Obesity reviews an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity, 12(1), 1-‐13. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20546144
Reid, M. (2010). The weight of affluence. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 88(2), 86-‐87. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.