الأربعاء 24 ذو القعدة 1438 هـ - الاربعاء 16 أغسطس 2017 م 06:06:24 PM
Obesity is a serious health problem, officially recognized by The American Medical Association as a disease associated with several medical comorbidities and an increased risk of mortality, and its prevalence is increasing worldwide. This scenario is present also in Arabic-speaking countries, especially females, are heavily affected by obesity, foremost in Kuwait, Egypt, UAE, Bahrain, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
In this view, a group of investigators from the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics of Beirut Arab University (BAU) in Lebanon, and their colleagues from Villa Garda Hospital in Verona – Italy conducted a systematic review published recently in the Journal of Current Diabetes Reviews, that aimed to assess the effectiveness of the available lifestyle-modification programs for weight management delivered in Arab States. Six studies, conducted in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, met the inclusion criteria. Surprisingly most studies showed no significant reduction in body weight in the long-term.
The principle investigator, Dr Marwan El Ghoch, medical doctor in clinical nutrition from Villa Garda Hospital, and visiting professor in Beirut Arab University comments: "On a global scale, lifestyle-modification programs combined with specific recommendations on diet and exercise are considered the cornerstones of weight management, as they have been shown to determine improvements in weight-related medical comorbidities and quality of life, and are therefore recommended as first choice treatments by international guidelines". However, he underlines that some major factors may be implicated in discrepancies between international findings (U.S. and Europe) and those derived from the Arabic-speaking countries in regard.
"First, based on our results, we noticed substantial methodological weaknesses in the transcultural adaptation and development of treatments, not taking into account linguistic and socioeconomic. Second, none of the studies included in our systematic review relied on direct supervision by clinical experts in lifestyle modification either before or during program implementation. Third, there are traditional restrictions to lifestyle choices in Arab countries, in particular there are certain social and cultural obstacles to females developing healthier lifestyles.
Dr El Ghoch concludes that future studies are sorely needed to improve, and design effective new programs for this region, taking into account the transcultural factors (linguistic, and sociocultural) involved and the need for expert supervision before and during intervention. To this end it will be vital to identify and devise strategies for overcoming traditional barriers to participation and adherence to lifestyle-modification programs, especially among females. Finally, more, and more robust, research is needed on lifestyle modification for weight loss in Arab-speaking countries, with a view to tailoring effective treatment programs
for this population.
Dr Marwan El Ghoch
