Introduction

In this report, a new business initiative (Summer Fun) will be introduced and discussed, which is a Summer Camp for overweight and obese children in the UAE. Since UAE is lacking such facilities, it will be necessary to bring this initiative to the UAE. The aim of the business initiative is to prevent obesity at early stages and to cause awareness of this across the region. This initiative will be followed by researched facts and figures.

Literature review

United Arab Emirates is ranked as the fifth fattest nation on earth. The study was carried out and confirmed by a BMC Public Health journal (Saberi, 2012). The study also showed that an average individual in the United Arab Emirates Consumes around 20% more than the standard required amount per 24 hours. Obesity can occur due to genetics or if the individual’s diet includes exceeding amounts of fat and sugars which later turn into energy which does not burn off during activities and exercise. That unused energy is then turns into body fat.

The UAE has nearly an empty market for children with obesity, even though UAE has a very big issue with obese and overweight children. A study showed that the number of obese children in the United Arab Emirates went up to 32% from ages 6-19 (Brich, 2013). The study was concluded in 2012, which means the numbers went up significantly since then. An action has to be taken to stop the numbers from rising even higher.

Below are two similar business initiative’s which are located in the USA are discussed in detail.

1.Wellspring Camp is an organization located in the United States of America, which provides summer camps around the USA for children with obesity. The Summer Camp is hosted over the summer holidays when children are off school. They are one of the most successful summer camps in the region due to their style of weight loss techniques. Unlike some summer camps that restrict food and put children on hard diets, Wellspring introduces the children to fun activities such as aerobics, kick boxing, hiking in the local mountains and much more.

2.Camp Shane is located across many states in the United States of America. It is also one of the most popular summer camps for kids like the Wellspring Camp. They follow similar methods of weight loss just like the Wellspring Camp. Weight loss is only a part of their mission. They try to make their campers used and addicted to exercise and activities such as mixed martial arts, fitness, aerobics and much more, which helps to fight obesity in the long run. Camp Shane also teaches children how to eat healthy, combining it with activities. Their study shows that their campers burn around 15-50 pounds over their summer course (Pont, 2013).

The new business initiative (Summer Fun) will be located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates due to the high levels of children obesity. As discussed before, children obesity rate went up to 32% (Brich, 2013). The main objective of this business is to reduce the levels of obesity and to make people more aware of the situation. This summer camp will be mainly targeted at children aged 7-17 years old. With Summer Fun, overweight and obese children can enjoy doing fun exercise and activities during their summer holidays, which will benefit them in the long run.

Methodology

The primary research has been carried out using journal articles, newspaper articles and similar initiatives websites about the obesity levels in the UAE and around the world. The primary research was carried out to find out what the issue’s with obesity is and to find initiatives that are already used to fight the problem.

The secondary research was carried out using a survey. Surveymonkey.com was used to carry out this survey, provided a big database of people in the region. The main targets were fathers, mothers and families located in the United Arab Emirates. With that information, a better point of view on child obesity in the UAE has been discovered. The survey has been served to 23 individuals to find out what the people think of this issue and if they are willing to fight the problem.

Results and discussion

Figure 1

Only 60.87% of the people are interested in a kid’s summer camp, while the other 39.13% are not interested.

Figure 2

The main part of the people (72.73%) are concerned about their child’s health and only 27.27% are not concerned.

Figure 3

Out of 22 people, 16 are aware of child obesity and 6 are not. More people are aware, which is a good result.

Figure 4

The people that took the survey mainly do not mind mix gender. 80.95% of the people said they do not mind mix gender, while 19.05% said they do mind.

Organizational Structure

There is a need to setup a company, in order to organize the business initiative (Summer Fun). A partnership will be the most appropriate type of business due to its low start up costs and higher capital. Sole trader was not chosen due to the difficulties in funding the business initiative.

Legal Structure

This business initiative (Summer Fun) will be a commercial and a limited liability company that is aimed to attract investors and shareholders to make this project live & running.

Marketing Plan

The summer camp needs to be set up in easy access places around Dubai, United Arab Emirates. As discussed, the target audience is overweight and obese children aged 7-17 years old, mix gender and nationalities. This company will be unique in the region due to the absence of such business initiatives. The summer camp will be held during the summer holidays and will cost 500 AED per week for all age groups due to the results the survey has showed.

Conclusion

It is necessary to bring this business initiative to United Arab Emirates. As seen on this report, UAE has a gap in this market, which is in fact very needed in this region. UAE has the highest obesity rates and that needs to be reduced by bringing in the summer camps. The survey has shown that many parents in the UAE would send their child to a summer camp as seen on Figure 1. The survey and the graphs can be seen in the appendix.

Reference

• Campshane, (2015). More than just Weight Loss Camps for Kids and Teens. [online] Available at: http://campshane.com/weight-loss-camp-for-kids [Accessed 4 Feb. 2015].

• Campshane, (2015). Weight Loss for Kids and Teens that Works. [online] Available at: http://campshane.com/weight-loss-for-kids [Accessed 7 Feb. 2015].

• Campshane, (2015). Weight Loss Programs for Kids – Child Weight Loss with Camp Shane!. [online] Available at: http://campshane.com/weight-loss-programs-for-kids [Accessed 5 Feb. 2015].

• NHS, (2014). Obesity – Causes. [online] Available at: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Obesity/Pages/Causes.aspx [Accessed 4 Feb. 2015].

• Saberi, M. (2012). UAE the fifth most obese country in the world. [online] Gulfnews. Available at: – http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/health/uae-the-fifth-most-obese-country-in-the-world-1.1045224 [Accessed 4 Feb. 2015].

• Wellspring Camps, (2013). Fat Camp. [online] Available at: http://www.wellspringcamps.com/why/ [Accessed 4 Feb. 2015].

• Wellspring, (2013). Typical day at weight loss camp. [online] Available at: http://www.wellspringcamps.com/typical-day-at-weight-loss-camp/ [Accessed 4 Feb. 2015].

The post Business Plan: Summer Camp for Overweight & Obese Children in UAE appeared first on WordChive.