Posted by nadeem on February 25, 2008
by Astrid Al-Hadeedi | Lecturer | American University of Kuwait
The World Health Organization lists Kuwait as the 8th fattest country in the world with a 74.2% prevalence of overweight individuals, behind Nauru (94.5%), Federated States of Micronesia (91.1%), Cook Islands (90.9%), Tonga (90.8%), Niue (81.7%), Samoa (80.4%) and Palau (78.4%). This small group of Pacific Island countries has a genetic propensity for larger muscular physiques, and abdominal fatness has long been considered a symbol of wealth and prosperity for Pacific Islanders. Second to this cluster of small Pacific Islands is Kuwait. We are heavier than the Americans and report the highest rate of obesity of all Gulf Arab countries. We have the highest prevalence of hypertension and elevated cholesterol levels in all the Gulf region and we rank 5th for the global prevalence of diabetes behind Nauru, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Small-scale national studies report that only 2 – 5% of our population is physically active despite the fact that International Diabetes Federation tells us that up to 80% of type 2 diabetes is preventable by adopting a healthy diet and increasing physical activity.
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Posted in Kuwait, Kuwait health, Public health | Tagged: diabetes, health campaigns, health education, Kuwait, obesity, Public health | 10 Comments »
Posted by nadeem on February 6, 2008
The Cyprus International Institute for the Environment and Public Health, in association with the Harvard School of Public Health, is announcing the following educational programs and scholarships:
“We have a world class 1 year Masters Program in Environmental Health which is taught by faculty from Harvard and other prestigious scholars from around the globe. We are offering a number of scholarships for this program and are hoping you can help us by spreading the word to any interested students. The deadline to apply for Academic Year 08-09 is March 1st. There is no application fee and tuition for the year is 7500 Euros.
We also are offering the following two upcoming Continuing Professional Education Courses (you can locate the flyers of the events on our website under the Calendar section):
Treating Nicotine Addiction: What you can do to help your patients quit smoking. This 2 day training course will be taught by Drs. Greg Connolly, Dr Robert West, Dr Taru Kinnunen, and Dr Georges Saade. April 7 – 8, 2008 in Nicosia Cyprus. The course is modestly priced at 300 Euros and a number of scholarships will be offered. The registration deadline is March 20, 2008 and seats are limited. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Global health, Medical education, Middle East health, Public health | Tagged: diabetes, Environmental health, nutrition, obesity, Public health | Leave a Comment »
