El Sokkar Barra w Be’eed: A Campaign to Raise Awareness on Sugar Overconsumption
For many people, sugar is an addition to most of their foods and drinks, even if in small amounts. We don’t realize how big our sugar intake is because often, we don’t add it ourselves, it’s probably already present in whatever we’re having. Unfortunately, too much sugar can lead to many chronic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, among others.
Last month, a group of undergraduate media students from Misr International University (MIU) started a campaign to raise and spread awareness on the harmful effects of the overconsumption of sugar. And since it’s a subject that the majority of the Egyptian community is suffering from, the campaign quickly caught many people’s attention, especially due to its catchy name “El Sokkar Barra w Be’eed” (the sugar is far from us). The name imitates a famous Egyptian proverb that means the danger is far from us.
The page creates informative posts that use common situations as examples, such as morning tea, information about products that have hidden added sugar, and the relationship between sugar and coronavirus. The posts also look appealing and give out the advice without sounding patronizing.
They recently came up with a 7-day challenge that consists of practical and easy steps to reduce your sugar intake.
Celebrities like Egyptian actress Mayan El Sayed and Egyptian satirist and doctor, Bassem Youssef, supported the campaign and promoted it. In his video, Bassem Youssef explained the importance of the campaign and expressed his happiness and pride after being told that the campaign was inspired by his Plant B show that focuses on maintaining a healthy diet through plant-based foods.
