Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) in collaboration with Qatar University (QU) recently held a series of workshops for the participants in its newly-launched Smart Weight initiative.
The workshops, organised by the HMC’s Nutrition Department and QU’s Department of Arts and Science, guided participants through an introduction to the programme, before breakout sessions divided course participants into five zones where they learned about food portions, calories, lifestyle changes and the importance of diet and exercise.
Participants also had their height, weight, fat percentage and body mass index (BMI) measured, and were issued with pedometres for tracking their movement and specialised scales, so that they can monitor their weight and BMI at home.
The programme targets people with a body mass index (BMI) of over 30, the aim being to utilise HMC’s expert clinicians to provide diet and exercise advice over a six-month period to help the participants lose weight. The goal of the programme is for participants to lose a minimum 10% of their body weight over six months. A total of 500 registered participants have been accepted into the programme, from over 3,000 applications.
Dr Yousuf al-Maslamani, medical director, Hamad General Hospital, who heads the Smart Weight team, said the programme focuses on encouraging participants to change their lifestyle habits in order to minimise the risks related to obesity.
“Our goal ultimately, is a healthier and more informed society, and the Smart Weight programme is a unique platform that can be used to educate people into adopting healthy lifestyle habits for life. These workshops will hopefully be the start of a new life for our 500 participants,” said Dr al-Maslamani.
Reem al-Saadi, HMC assistant director of Corporate Dietetics and Nutrition, who launched the Smart Weight programme, said the initial workshops were designed to give an overview to participants of what to expect in the coming months.
“Weight loss is a difficult journey. In our first workshops, we aim to simplify the process for programme participants, and also to encourage them to buy into the expertise we have on offer,” said Dr al-Saadi.“However, the onus is on programme participants to do the work, make the changes to their life, and utilise the resources that we have to help them become smarter about their weight,” she added.
The Smart Weight workshop team with Dr Reem al-Saadi (centre)
