Middle East's anti-aging business continues to attract attention

The anti-aging market is a multi-billion dollar global industry, and covers a wide variety of treatments and procedures. Generally, there is a perception that anti-aging is confined to cosmetic surgery and lotions and creams designed specifically to cater to the vanity of a section of the population.

However, Sietske Meerloo, Marketing Manager at IIR Middle East explained that this view is wide of the mark.

"There's a growing awareness that anti-aging encompasses much more than undergoing a nip and tuck in an expensive cosmetic surgery clinic or hospital," she said. "Preventative medicine and protecting the body from developing ailments for example is now acknowledged as an important part of the anti-aging process," she added. "As populations get older, the need to combat age-linked disease is becoming vital."

The anti-aging side of healthcare is also called well aging medicine and is the subject of huge amounts of research funding. With new developments being made consistently it can be a daunting task for medical professionals to keep abreast of all the latest techniques.

Christophe Luino, General Manager, Euromedicom who's co-organising ICAAM Middle East said recently that the event is designed specifically to cater to the needs of those involved in this area of healthcare.

he added:

"In the congress we're bringing real high level renowned experts to present their techniques, new orientations, new trends in aesthetics and simple and efficient techniques to propose to patients."

A unique aspect of anti-aging medicine is the high level of elective procedures available to patients. According to Meerloo, the Middle East has the opportunity to cater to this particular market.

"The credit crunch will see many parts of the world witness a decline in the number of patients looking to undergo elective procedures. When money's tight people tend to avoid this type of thing," she said. "However, people living in much of the Middle East have a high standard of living and there are high levels of liquidity, so we're actually witnessing a growth in anti-aging medicine here," she added. "That's why it's vital anyone involved, or looking to become involved in anti-aging healthcare should attend ICAAM Middle East."