Dr Mamtani speaking during a presentation at the WCMC-Q seminar.
The number of overweight or obese people has been growing steadily in recent decades. In Qatar, 70% of adults are overweight and 41% are obese while 68% of adults in the US are overweight and 34% are obese.
These figures came to light at a health seminar organised under the Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar’s (WCMC-Q) Sahtak Awalan campaign.
The seminar in the new ‘Ask the Expert’ series began with a presentation by WCMC-Q Professor Dr Ravinder Mamtani, who attended to questions about weight loss from the audience during an interactive session.
“Losing weight brings many benefits but the problem is that people who successfully lose weight often put it back on. The aim of the seminar is to explain approaches to weight management that allow the individual to maintain a healthy weight in the long-term,” he said.
Being overweight or obese is associated with a number of serious health issues, including type-2 diabetes, hypertension and heart disease.
“In my experience, fad diets tend not to be effective because even if the dieter loses some weight they are likely to go back to their old habits and put it back on again. The best method is to give the individual knowledge and practical skills to make sensible, informed choices about what they eat and how much they exercise,” he said, added that “once they have achieved their healthy new weight, the skills they have learned will allow them to maintain that weight, leading to long-term health benefits and improved quality of life.”
“It is also important that people realise that they really do have the power to lose weight and to keep it off if they learn how to do so. It is about skill power as much as willpower,” he stressed.
One of the participants at the seminar, Ayman Alawef, said: “The information in the talk was very useful. I have tried to lose weight many times and it’s true that it is difficult to keep it off. I think the most useful message for me was how important regular physical activity is for weight management. I also think we are eating too many fatty and starchy foods, so these are areas that can be targeted.”
Another participant Weam Barghouthi said the concept of an informal, interactive forum about health was of great benefit to people.
While questioning who is overseeing the actions of weight loss clinics across Qatar, many of which she said promoted a high protein/low carbohydrate diet, Barghouthi said: “That is contrary to the advice given by Dr Mamtani who espoused a balanced, calorie-controlled diet in conjunction with moderate exercise.”
One of health professionals at the seminar Maryam al-Hamaq, of Qatar Diabetes Association, said: “My work goes along with what the doctor presented about how physical activity and diet take a huge part in keeping the weight off and how we can incorporate that with our patients. It’s good to know that there are a lot of changes that people can make.”
