Dubai billboard taken down after claiming diabetes can be cured by 10 days of yoga

A billboard that claimed diabetes and depression could be beaten with 10 days of yoga has been taken down by the authorities.

The advert advertising Sanjeev Krishna Yoga was described as “misleading and dangerous” by doctors.

It claimed the Rhythm of Life programme could “beat diabetes, arthritis and back pain in only 10 days with no medicines”.

The health ministry ordered the billboard near City Walk in Dubai to be removed after complaints from several medical professionals.

“This is misleading and dangerous information that is being shared with people,” said Dr Girish Juneja, head of bariatric surgery at Al Zahra Hospital in Dubai.

“It could encourage people to stop taking their medication and this might result in them ending up in intensive care units of hospitals because it is so dangerous.”

Dr Juneja said that he noticed the billboard when driving along and contacted the health ministry.

“Yoga can certainly help people to lose weight but there are many factors that have to be taken into account before you can say diabetes could be reversed,” he said.

“There is no way you can say that it can be cured within 10 days from yoga alone.”

Sanjeev Krishna told The National the billboard had been paid for by a student who had completed his programme and wanted to share their experience.

“We do not claim we are able to cure those illnesses within 10 days,” he said.

“It is a misunderstanding. The 10 days only refers to the time taken to gain the knowledge to be able to beat those conditions.”

The Ministry of Health and Prevention said on Twitter that it had ordered that the billboard be removed.

“This advertisement is not licensed by the Ministry of Health and Prevention, and we informed the concerned authorities to take action against this repeated violation,” it wrote.