Alide Chase, Senior Vice President at US healthcare organisation Kaiser Permanente, speaking at the Forum.
DOHA: Lifestyle, social and emotional factors need to be addressed as part of a proactive strategy to tackle obesity, according to an international expert speaking at the Middle East Forum on Quality Improvement in Healthcare, in Doha recently.
During a session Alide Chase, Senior Vice President at US healthcare organisation Kaiser Permanente, said healthcare organisations need to fully understand the sources of the obesity epidemic before it can be successfully treated.
She led a session entitled ‘Better Health at Any Weight — the Obesity Epidemic’ which was part of a series of workshops held during the three-day conference hosted by Hamad Medical Corporation in collaboration with the US Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI).
Qatar’s National Health Strategy has targeted the rising levels of obesity in the country as an imperative. The country also has one of the highest per capita rates of type 2 diabetes in the world with the International Diabetes Federation ranking it fifth globally in terms of diabetes prevalence among people aged 20 to 79. Stating that a complete paradigm shift was needed, Chase highlighted the need to tackle obesity proactively by treating its symptoms.
“Research tells us that genetics and medical care account for less than 40 percent of the factors that shape healthcare issues like obesity. Personal behaviour and socio-economic factors significantly shape our health. We need to addresses these factors head on,” Chase said.
The Peninsula
