Manama, September 17 (BNA) The Chairman of the Supreme Council of Health, Lieutenant-General Dr. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bahrain Diabetes Association, affirmed the Kingdom of Bahrain’s efforts to combat diabetes. Obesity as a top priority in the national plan to achieve the sustainable development goals and reduce premature deaths from non-communicable diseases by 2030.
The Chairman of the Council was speaking at the opening of the “Bahrain Academy of Obesity” conference, which is organized by BDS in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, King Hamad University Hospital and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.
Lieutenant-General Dr. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, in his opening speech for the two-day event, highlighted the Kingdom’s efforts to combat overweight within the framework of a national scheme that includes a wide range of measures such as physical activities, healthy nutrition, establishing specialized clinics, and promoting healthy lifestyles.
The Chairman of the Supreme Council of Health affirmed the Kingdom of Bahrain’s commitment to limiting the spread of non-communicable diseases, pointing to the increased awareness of this issue and the need to take drastic measures to combat obesity, which has escalated over the past years. He also warned of the repercussions of this disease being chronic and dangerous for both the individual and society.
Lieutenant-General Dr. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Khalifa confirmed that the Bahrain Obesity Academy will contribute to the preparation of a comprehensive educational program for 45 physicians in the Kingdom of Bahrain on obesity prevention, diagnosis and treatment to enable them to provide the necessary assistance for severe obesity. The patients.
For her part, Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health for Public Health Affairs, Dr. Maryam Al-Hajri, said that the Bahrain Obesity Academy conference is the first medical conference to be held in person since the outbreak of the Corona virus (Covid-19). She added that the conference is being held in accordance with the precautionary health measures that are compatible with the alert signal, in line with the directives of the National Task Force to Combat the Coronavirus (Covid-19).
She pointed out that many participants attended the conference via the Internet, noting that the number of attendees exceeded 150 participants. She pointed out that holding the conference is an encouraging step for the return of such conferences in the future. She also stressed the danger that obesity poses to people’s health and the depletion of health care resources.
Dr. Al-Hajri indicated that a national health survey conducted in the Kingdom of Bahrain in 2018 showed that 25.7% of expatriates suffer from obesity, while the rate was 42.8% among citizens. She added that 39.8% of the population and 33.2% of the citizens are overweight. She pointed out that it has become urgent to give the highest priority to obesity in the fight against it. She pointed to the growing awareness of the role of obesity in causing many chronic diseases, stressing regional and international efforts to address this problem.
AOQ