EVERY Wednesday, as the sun goes down in Abu Dhabi, the richest of the seven statelets making up the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a crowd pours into the Yas Marina Circuit, where the annual Formula One race is held. Dressed in athletic gear and trainers, more than a thousand people come to walk, run and ride bicycles. All of these enthusiasts are women and most are indigenous Emirati citizens, who make up less than 15% of the UAE’s population. Such physical activity has in the past been most unusual. But the country’s rulers, egged on by its doctors, have embarked on a vigorous campaign—to make people less fat.

Around 38% of the UAE’s women are obese, according to Booz Allen Hamilton, an American consultancy. So are 33% of its men and 20% of its young aged 6-19, says Daman, the national health-insurance company, which sponsors the Wednesday “GoYas” event. Obesity is a problem across the Gulf states. Treating diabetes is reckoned to cost the UAE nearly 2% of its annual GDP. “It’s a billion-dirham topic,” says Daman’s Sven Rohte. According to another study by YouGov, a British polling firm, one-third of the population does no physical activity at all, while another quarter takes exercise for less than two hours a week.

Not that facilities are lacking. Football pitches and walking paths have proliferated over the past ten years. Even in the summer, when the temperature outside can exceed 45°C, you can stretch your legs in a plethora of cool indoor gyms and malls. And the UAE hosts an array of international sporting events, from golf and Formula One to horse-racing, cricket and a tennis tournament that attracts players from the world’s top ten. Running and cycling clubs are going strong.

“We have very high-profile sporting events, and that’s beautiful and exciting, but it doesn’t necessarily create a sporting culture,” says Omar Nour, a UAE-based Egyptian triathlete who is hoping to compete in the Olympics and who serves as one of Daman’s “ambassadors for public health”.

The firm has been pleasantly surprised by the success, so far, of GoYas. Having previously organised an event for both sexes on Tuesdays, it had lower expectations for a ladies-only one on Wednesdays. Yet it has become a must-attend event on the weekly social calendar. Mr Nour says building a community spirit is the key. “There has to be public fun,” he says. “You have to create a feeling and a city that are friendly to activity.”

When the UAE’s government recently spelt out its list of priorities, three out of seven issues on the agenda touched on obesity. It called for healthy children, healthy food and a country that is free of diabetes. “We want to see everyone take part in sports,” says Nahyan bin Mubarak al-Nahyan, the minister for culture, youth and community development.