As a medical student , I’ve attended many clinics, but my favorite one was always the endocrine clinic because I felt it combined my interest in medicine and public health. It was really unfortunate to be exposed to the high number of people who suffered from obesity & obesity related complications, mainly as a result of poor dietary choices.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/27/world/middleeast/27qatar.html
A review that looked at food patterns and diet quality among Qatari nationals found that the fatty foods consumed by Qataris had twice as high level of fat nutrition density than what is recommended by the WHO. Qatar ranks sixth globally for the prevalence of obesity and has the highest rate of obesity among adolescents boys in the middle east region. Latest report from the Qatar Biobank, released in March 2017, showed that 70% of the Qatari population are either obese or overweight. Obesity is a major risk factor for many diseases, most of them unfortunately with debilitating consequences, especially if obesity starts at a young age.
Despite Qatar’s wealthy economy and it’s advancement in the healthcare sector, Qatar focus so far has been mainly on treatment rather than implementing effective prevention programs. A couple of intervention programs have been implanted mostly in terms of providing nutrition counseling clinics which patients can access either through primary health centers or as referrals from any subspecialty clinic.
Source:http://www.qatar-tribune.com/news-details/id/54297
The above presented facts, calls for an urgent need to develop practical programs by the Ministry of Public Health. Programs that equip people with the proper diet and exercise education, while taking into consideration the complexity of the culture and the importance of social norms. My idea of an effective intervention is a one that targets different groups of the society simultaneously, so we can change the society as a whole .We need to work hand in hand with people from various fields to reshape our culture into a more healthier one. We need to reallocate our resources to focus more on interventions rather than on treatment options only. I believe it’s time to step up, and plan for serious actions.