Obesity risks Qatar’s future, warn experts

Qatar has overtaken the US in the obesity stakes and people must do more to ensure a healthy future, free of diabetes and associated illnesses, for themselves and their children. This was the message that came from a high-level symposium organised by Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar’s (WCMC-Q) department of global and public health.The event, co-sponsored by the Supreme Council of Health (SCH) and featuring speakers from around the world, was titled ‘Emerging Trends in Health Care and Lifestyle Diseases: A Special Focus on Qatar’.It was also an opportunity for the department of global and public health to launch the Journal of Local and Global Health Perspectives, an international peer-reviewed, open-access journal from QScience.com Dr Ravinder Mamtani, WCMC-Q’s associate dean for global and public health, and Dr Albert Lowenfels from New York Medical College are the joint editors-in-chief. The aim is to provide a global perspective on health issues and publish research into the application of public health strategies in diverse regions and environments.Dr Faleh Mohamed Hussain Ali, assistant secretary general for policy affairs at the SCH, delivered the keynote remarks and welcomed the publication as a much-needed timely arrival for researchers, physicians and medical students.“We are missing such journals and it is a welcome addition to the medical publications landscape. It will be a great contribution towards the health of our nation as a whole,” Dr Ali said. “Having something that looks at scientific issues from a local as well as international perspective will benefit us a lot.”Dr Javaid Sheikh, dean of WCMC-Q, spoke on ‘Optimising Health Care Through Education, Research and Clinical Programmes’, while Dr Mamtani spoke on ‘Chronic Disease Risk Factors in Qatar: Recent Findings’.Dr Mamtani said lifestyle diseases are an area of concern in Qatar as recent research shows. Obesity is an important risk factor and the number of people living in Qatar who are overweight is increasing. Obesity increases the risk of chronic ailments such as heart disease, hypertension and diabetes.“Globally, 63% of the people die from non-communicable diseases. Among these, the top four are cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory diseases and diabetes, constituting about 80% of mortalities,” Dr Mamtani said.These diseases and risk factors are widely prevalent in Qatar. About 70% of the country’s people are overweight and 41% are obese, shows recent data provided by the SCH.“These diseases, as science has shown, kill prematurely. They compromise the quality of life and we also know that they are influenced by behaviour,” Dr Mamtani explained. “Even though genetics is an important component, these issues can be prevented or their onset delayed. We think we need to do a lot to prevent these illnesses, but this is not the case. Often, simply making some marginal changes will help. In the case of obesity, for example, a small reduction of 3kg-5kg in weight will contribute to improved health. Equally important and simple self-care approaches such as having a healthy diet, regular physical activity and maintaining a normal body weight are immensely helpful in reducing the incidence of diseases such as diabetes.”These views were echoed by Dr David Katz, director of Yale University’s prevention research centre and an internationally renowned expert on nutrition, weight management and chronic disease prevention.Dr Katz said the problems Qatar faced are mirrored across the world. “Obesity threatens the US future as much as it threatens the future of Qatar. These problems are global. Obesity is a major problem that leads to many illnesses and diseases,” he observed.The symposium was told that 42% of Americans were expected to be obese by 2030, while one-third of all US adults would face problems caused by diabetes by 2050.Dr Katz blamed lack of physical activity, tobacco and poor diet as the main causes of early death by illness; this is something that all people could control in their daily lives. What is needed is a return to basic lifestyle changes, he said, stressing that personal motivation remains a crucial element in changing dietary habits, raising activity levels and adopting healthier options to ward off the possibility of illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity and cancer, which have the highest mortality rates across the globe.That advice is currently being heeded by WCMC-Q’s ‘Sahtak Awlan: Your Health First’ campaign, which is trying to educate people on leading healthier lifestyles. The symposium also saw speeches by Prof Stephanie Abbuhl, a leading women’s advocacy speaker from Pennsylvania University where she is the executive director of Focus on Health and Leadership for Women. Prof Abbuhl provided a perspective on advancing women in medicine and science.Dr Lowenfels focused on health, disease and the intestinal microbiome. He explained the possible relationship between the gut bacteria and chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes. Further research is currently under way regarding the possible health effects of changing the intestinal microbes.