Boubyan Bank, Kuwait Obesity Association launching campaign for free medical tests
On the occasion of the World Obesity Day
KUWAIT: In cooperation with Kuwait Obesity Association and Novo Nordisk, Boubyan Bank will be launching a campaign for performing free medical tests and providing free medical advice for everybody, customers and non-customers alike, on the occasion of the World Obesity Day on Friday and Saturday, October 12th-13th in the Avenues. Qutayba Al-Bassam, Executive Manager at the Corporate Communications Division of Boubyan Bank, stated that this campaign is aligned with Kuwait’s marking of the World Obesity Day on October 11th, and to use this day to spread awareness about obesity.
“The campaign will be held over two days and will be open for every one so that they may get medical tests such as BP, Blood Glucose, HbA1c, BMI, Cholesterol and many other tests in addition to getting free medical advice by specialists,” Al-Bassam added. Al-Bassam also thanked the members of Kuwait Obesity Association and Novo Nordisk, the renowned global company for their part in organizing this campaign and the exerted efforts to spread awareness about the risks of obesity.
High and terrifying percentage
Asrar Sayed Hashim, Deputy Head of Kuwait Obesity Association, said that obesity had reached unprecedented levels in Kuwait for adults and children alike as per the statistics, and this constituted a real threat to the health of individuals and, thus, leading to chronic diseases which and ultimately to death.
“The statistics of international organizations, led by the World Health Organization, show that obesity rate in the Middle East has witnessed a notable increase as it stands now at 37%. Today, 1 of each 5 adults is morbidly obese while Kuwait records the highest rates of obesity in the GCC region.” she stated. She went on to add: “The statistics show that 1 of each 5 children and teens in Kuwait, aged 5 to 19, is obese. The “Overweight” rate for this age group is about 50%, which is an alarming rate. The obesity rate is also high for adults in Kuwait as it stands at 33% for males and 42% for females and such are very dangerous and alarming rates.”
Novo Nordisk
On the other hand, Dr Akin Aksekili, General Manager Gulf Emerging Markets at Novo Nordisk, stated: “All the segments of the society should stand together to confront the discrimination facing obese people. It is our duty in Novo Nordisk to help spread awareness about obesity, its reasons and its dangerous complications. I would like to thank our partners in Kuwait Obesity Association and Boubyan Bank for this awareness event, and we hope that such events may highlight the burden that obesity lays on the shoulders of the society.”
Organizational frameworks Amina Al Qabandi, Treasurer of Kuwait Obesity Association, also stressed the importance of spreading awareness and communication in dealing with this health issue by setting legal and organizational frameworks related to marketing of foodstuff with high saturated fats, sodium and sugars. She called upon mothers, schools and decision-makers to promote healthy food by fostering a healthy diet at early childhood in addition to encouraging physical activity. She added: “Awareness should start from home and at a very early age so as to contain obesity risks. School should play a role in this issue in addition to the necessity of changing a lot of bad food habits and change our life styles which promote laziness and inactivity.”