Al Ahli hospital’s Diet To Go: A new front in obesity war

Al Ahli Hospital will establish a sister company called ‘Diet To Go’ to help people lose weight and prevent obesity by offering a wide range of healthy food choices in an innovative way, a senior official said.

“For the very first time in Qatar, you will find expert dieticians joining hands with French chefs to provide healthy food to overweight people,” deputy CEO Jamal S Hammad explained on the sidelines of the opening of the first-ever two-day ‘Obesity and Overweight Symposium,’ at Katara – the Cultural Village. The programme will offer around 122 different cuisines under a special diet aimed at preventing clients from getting bored of the usual type of menu served to them every day.Hammad hopes the new company will open by the end of this month, featuring a wide selection of food for their patients at Al Ahli Hospital, as well as for outsiders. The programme will also give walk-ins the option to take either three months or six months, or a longer period for the diet, according to the official. “The food itself will be produced in the hospital because it has to go on the strength of monitoring control, calculating calories, and etc.,” he noted. Patients who register in the programme will have a mobile application where they can select the menus, which can be delivered to their homes. “They can choose and try, and remove anything until they are able to finalise their order, then submit it, he added. “If their selection exceeds dedicated calorie intake, they will not be able to submit the order.”“We will receive it in the evening and next thing in the morning the meal will be delivered to their doorstep, it maybe their breakfast, lunch and dinner, which can either be reheated or eaten cold,” Hammad pointed out.

Dr A Azeem A Wahab H AbdulwahabAbout the symposium, Dr A Azeem A Wahab H Abdulwahab, senior consultant surgeon and director of general surgery department at Al Ahli Hospital, told reporters that they want to raise public awareness about the importance of preventing and treating obesity.He said the symposium also aims to educate their medical staff, including those from other hospitals in the country, about obesity and overweight. Organisers invited 30 speakers from Qatar and other countries such as Holland and the US to share their expertise and knowledge to the participants in a series of discussions scheduled until today. The senior official said they will also tackle several topics in the medical field, including surgery to treat obesity and overweight. He cited that a big number of patients come from other neighbouring countries to seek treatment and surgery in Qatar not because their countries lack the technology and capability but due to privacy reasons.In Qatar, the number of obese people, including children, is increasing every year, according to Hammad. “We believe this symposium will address all the diagnosis and prognosis of such cases, way of treatment, prevention, and even new techniques used by Al Ahli Hospital and worldwide to help people to reduce their weight,” he added.