Interactive multi-media kit offers weight loss advice to patients across the Middle East

The kits provide doctors with a new tool for teaching patients about sensible weight loss options, using a mix of traditional media and interactive technology.

'Obesity is a serious medical condition that increases mortality and is a major risk factor for the development of other medical conditions,' said Ibrahim Aql, general manager, Gulf Region, Abbott Laboratories, which is supporting this innovative initiative.

'The aim of distributing these kits is to help medical professionals provide patients with extra information on healthy living options, covering everything from diet and exercise, to multiple choice quizzes on healthy living,' added Aql.

The kit, which has been designed to help people to lose and maintain weight over a long-term period, includes a patient profile card, eating habits and exercise booklets, an audiotape and an interactive CD, which incorporates animation and a pre-recorded interview with Prof. W. Philip T. James, chairman of the International Obesity Task Force.

In the UAE, a number of prescription medicines can be recommended by doctors, to boost the efforts of people seeking to manage their weight through lifestyle changes. It is hoped that the introduction of the multi-media kit will complement prescription medicines by providing people with helpful information and motivational support.

'For many people who want to lose weight, the hardest part is getting started. By making this kit available, we are arming people with all the information and motivation they need to change their habits,' said Aql.

Current WHO estimates are that a quarter of UAE nationals suffer from obesity, a proportion that rises to 40 per cent in the population aged over 60.