RIYADH, 24 February 2005 — Politicians’ campaigns promise to make your life better as you watch and wait, but a new Ministry of Health campaign guarantees to make your life better if you watch your weight.
The ministry has launched a countrywide awareness campaign, “Weigh Your Life,” to control the alarming increase of obesity in the Kingdom. A national call center has been set up at the ministry to guide citizens on matters relating to obesity.
“The program has been launched by Health Minister Dr. Hamad Al-Manie to assist the obese and to guide others to lead a healthy life,” said Amany M. Al-Imam, a consultant at the campaign call center.
Al-Imam noted that 52 percent of the Saudi population either are obese or overweight, a figure that includes 70 percent of the Kingdom’s children.
The call center is equipped with five phone lines and is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The telephone number is 01-291-6754 with four extensions: 102-105. It has a fax line for written inquiries 01-291-6754, Ext. 106. Faxed replies will be dispatched from the center. A website, www.moh.gov.sa, also is available.
The center headed by Dr. Safea bint Murad Al-Sharbini, a diabetes consultant, is supported by a team of Saudi women medics and paramedics working for the Ministry of Health Inpatient Education. The center has a comprehensive database of all health problems to assist callers with information on personal health.
Al-Imam said the majority of the telephone calls come from housewives and young women who want to be slim and healthy. “Lifestyle, eating habits and lack of exercise are the main causes of this problem,” she said. “Sitting in front of the television for long hours, eating junk food and consuming large amounts of high carbohydrate foods are main contributors to obesity.”
Initially, Al-Imam said, callers will have to identify themselves and tell the call center about the personal health problems. A ministry official will advise the callers as to what type of medical treatment or therapy they should follow to overcome the problem of obesity.
The term overweight refers to increased body weight in relation to height, when compared with standards of acceptable or desirable weight. Not all overweight people are obese.
