Take a break from car to stay healthy
The Sultanate has been witnessing an alarming rise in the number of obese youth opting for bariatric surgery in order to lose weight or control diabetes. Obesity is reported to be 20 per cent among men and 36 per cent among women in Oman. The figures, though, are lower than that in other countries of the region. “The number of people going in for bariatric surgeries is certainly on the rise,” says Dr Mahmood al Abri, Head of Emergency Medicine, Al Nahda Hospital. According to him, bariatric surgery causes weight loss by reducing the stomach size, thereby restricting the A run for fun had a serious message for all: take a break from your car to stay healthy and include some physical activity in your day-to-day life.
A social group named Ard Alloban found Khareef an opportunity to raise health awareness among the people, particularly the young generation who stick only to their cars and hardly get time to walk or do any physical activity.
The group kicked off a health walk from famous Burj al Nahda roundabout on Thursday evening and got concluded with another round on Saturday at Ain Kor.
The participants covered a distance of 8 km from Burj al Nahda (Clock amount of food entering the stomach. “The surgery is usually performed using minimally invasive techniques known as laparoscopic (keyhole) surgery,” says Dr Al Abri.
Dr Nigel Kuriakose, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, says people with metabolic syndromes are on the rise, the prime reason being obesity, lack of exercise and unhealthy lifestyle practices, leading to multiple co-morbidities.
“Finally, the treatment for weight reduction would be bariatric surgery, as it turns out to be an easier alternative for many,” he says.
One would need a regular follow-up and some lifestyle modifications after the surgery.
Although there is no official statistics to support the finding, Tower) to Salalah Tourism Festival (STF) venue in Itin in the first round and almost the same distance on the concluding day.
The walk evoked good response as many passersby were seen joining it on way to the STF ground and by hospitals that the
approached have admitted there has been at least a five-per cent increase in the number of bariatric surgeries in the last few years.
“In the past decade or so, bariatric surgery has made rapid strides in providing relief to millions of obese people; there has been an increase in the number of bariatric surgeries that we have conducted in the past few years,” says Dr Harikrishnan of a private hospital.
According to him, obese people are likely to suffer from an increased incidence of complications after a surgery. the time it reached at the main gate of the festival ground, the number of participants had reached up to 100.
The announcement there that it would have another round brought more participants on Saturday.
The enthusiastic participants were clad in sportswear and were carrying Omani flags with a message of ‘In love of our Country’. The event coordinator Mundar al Dahim explained the very purpose of the walk as creating awareness among the youths that some physical activity is necessary to stay fit and healthy.
“Medicines are not the solutions, they are the results of our problem that could not have been avoided had we the youths took up healthy lifestyle.”
“Among the physical activities, walking is the easiest and most affordable. It requires some discipline and a little time which everyone should necessarily have to stay healthy. I advise the youths to shun the habit of using cars for every small movement. Life can be more enjoyable if you stay healthy,” he said.