Rising obesity cases ring alarm bells in Sultanate
According to a doctor in Oman, obesity can cause type two diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases, gallstones, as well as psychiatric diseases
Times News Service
MUSCAT: Around 60 per cent of adults in the Sultanate are overweight or obese, the Ministry of Health has revealed.
A statement by the ministry said, “The prevalence rates of people who are overweight and obese in the Sultanate are currently some 60 per cent of total adults.”
This came during the First Oman Obesity Conference organised by the Ministry of Health, represented by the National Diabetes and Endocrine Centre (NDEC), in collaboration with the Oman Diabetes Association and the Embassy of the United States of America.
According to Dr Noor Al Busaidi, NDEC director, in 2016, the World Health Organisation indicated that 39 per cent of adults worldwide were overweight, 13 per cent out of whom were suffering from obesity.
She also added that at the national level in the same year, the obesity rates after the age of 40 reached 36 per cent, which means there are some 164,000 patients in this age group.
According to a doctor in Oman, obesity can cause type two diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases, gallstones, as well as psychiatric diseases. It can also increase the chance of brain strokes and increase the need for medicines to control levels of cholesterol and triglycerides.
The Ministry of Health’s 2017 statistics show that 1 per cent of people who enter the hospital due to Nutritional, Endocrine, and metabolism disorders die, with the ministry, recording 71 hospital deaths due to these causes in the same year.
Morbidity outpatient care due to obesity is at 546 patients per 10,000 people for males. For females, the same indicator is 1,605.
Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Sa’eedi, Minister of Health, inaugurated the event and said, “Obesity is rising across the globe and the region. If it isn’t dealt with, then it can lead to health, societal and economical issues for the country. This is why this conference is being held as a first step in combating the disease.”
The statement added, “Dr Al Busaidi stressed changing these ratios required more effective mechanisms to reduce obesity.
For more than two years, the MOH has initiated in cooperation with the World Health Organisation (WHO) national surveys, plans and awareness programmes.”
Dr Lee M Caplan of the United States spoke about obesity as a disease that can worsen related health issues, and also spoke about current methods of treatment in the US, particularly in the Massachusetts general hospital, Massachusetts State Hospital Obesity Metabolism and Nutrition Institute.