Course Description:
This 1-day symposium aims to provide the healthcare professionals with up-to-date weight management strategies from lifestyle interventions to advanced therapies. This activity will include lectures as well as interactive sessions e.g. Q&A. It will be delivered in collaboration with speakers from local, regional and international institutions.
Course Objectives:
At the end of this activity, participants will:
- Recognize misconceptions about the management of obesity
- Describe evidence-based strategies to manage obesity from lifestyle interventions to advanced therapies
- Formulate an individualized patient-centered plan to manage patients before, during and after weight loss
Target Audience
Physicians, Nurses, Pharmacists, Allied Health Professionals, Students, Researchers, Educators
Need assessment
Obesity is a public health problem that is highly prevalent in the Middle Eastern Region1. Qatar is one of the countries that are heavily affected by obesity. The National STEPwise Survey (2012) of the Qatari population, classified 41% of 2384 participants (aged 18–64 years) as having obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2)2. Women had a greater incidence (43%) than men (40%). More recent research from 2021 that involved an analysis of electronic medical records in primary care (n=176 170; age ≥18 years), reported the prevalence of obesity as 33%. A study from 2018 study involving 164 963 schoolchildren (aged 5–19 years) showed an overall prevalence of overweight and obesity as 212% and 215%, respectively. Indigenous Qataris had a higher prevalence of 25% compared to non-Qataris (19%)3. It is anticipated that the prevalence of obesity and its associated diseases will continue to increase4. Obesity is recognized as a disease by many public health and medical organizations5,6. While the prevalence of obesity is very high, a very small proportion of patients receives appropriate treatment for obesity7.
Accordingly, obesity prevention is a key target within the Qatar National Health Strategy and there are ongoing efforts for obesity prevention and treatment in Qatar, with collaboration among multiple ministries and the private sector8.
This 1-day symposium aims to provide the healthcare professionals with comprehensive and multidisciplinary approaches for the management of obesity from lifestyle interventions to advanced therapies.
References:
1.Taheri S . Al-Thani M. Obesity in Qatar: current and future strategies. The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. VOLUME 9, ISSUE 9, P561-562, SEPTEMBER 01, 2021. Available online https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(21)00209-6/fulltext
2.Supreme Council of Health, Qatar Qatar Stepwise Report: 2012 chronic disease risk factor surveillance. https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/2012-steps-country-report-qatar Date: 2012Date accessed: April 04th , 2022
3.Mohideen FS .Rajkumar Honest PC .Syed MA .David KV .Abdulmajeed J .Ramireddy N. Prevalence of multimorbidity among adults attending primary health care centres in Qatar: a retrospective cross-sectional study.J Family Med Prim Care. 2021; 10: 1823-1828
4.Awad SF, A AT, K AA-M, S AA, M AI, S AHK, et al. Type 2 diabetes epidemic and key risk factors in Qatar: a mathematical modeling analysis. BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care. 2022;10(2).
5.World Health Organization. Obesity: Preventing and Managing the Global Epidemic - Report of a WHO Consultation on Obesity. Geneva: WHO; 1997.
6.Jensen MD, Ryan DH, Donato KA, et al. Guidelines (2013) for managing overweight and obesity in adults. Obesity. 2014;22(S2):S1–S410.
7.Thomas CE, Mauer EA, Shukla AP, Rathi S, Aronne LJ. Low adoption of weight loss medications: A comparison of prescribing patterns of antiobesity pharmacotherapies and SGLT2s. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2016;24(9):1955-1961.
8.https://www.moph.gov.qa/english/strategies/National-Health-Strategy-2018-2022/Pages/default.aspx