(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) A video about the healthy food shopping was produced with the support of the Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences and Ambulatory Health Services.
Dubai — A study supported by the Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences has highlighted the importance of the availability of dietitians and gyms in the UAE’s diabetes clinics.
Dr Habiba Ali principal investigator of the study titled “Skills for Change: Implementation of a Community-based Diabetes Nutrition Education Program for Emirati Adults with Type 2 Diabetes” and an associate professor in the Department of Nutrition and Health College of Food and Agriculture UAE University said the study was a collaborative effort between researchers from the college and the Seha’s Ambulatory Healthcare Services.
“The one-year study involved an intensive nutrition education programme focusing on improving diet and physical activity levels of Emirati patients with type 2 diabetes. The results indicated significant improvements in diabetes self-management reflected on the reduction of the patients’ weight an increase in their physical activity levels and thereby better blood sugar control” she added.
As many as 382 Emirati patients with type 2 diabetes attending Al Ain Ambulatory Health Services clinics including 219 patients (57.5 per cent of the sample) from Al Yahar Al Muwaiji and Al Hili health centres participated in the study. These three health centres received the educational programme (intervention clinics). The remaining patients in the study included 163 Emirati patients attending Al Muqam Zakher Al Neyadat and Mezyad centres which were the control health centres.
Dr Ali said the intervention participants showed higher intake of healthy foods which are rich in vitamins and fiber and lower intake of calories and carbohydrate. An average decrease in the patients’ weight about 1.1kg was noticed compared to average 1kg increase in the weight of the patients from the four control health centres.
“A video about the “healthy food shopping” was produced with the support of the Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences and Ambulatory Health Services (SEHA) and posted on the award’s YouTube channel” she added.
Professor Najib Al Khaja Secretary-General of the Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid award said supporting such important studies for Emirati society comes at the top of the priorities of the award particularly studies about diabetes the prevalence of which within the UAE is among the highest in the world.
“I wish that the recommendations of the study will be adopted by the healthcare centres in the UAE. Adding such services to the diabetes clinics would contribute to improving the prevalence rates of the disease and reducing its consequences” he said.
“The failure of patients in controlling blood sugar levels affects the vital functions of many organs in body such as kidney blood vessels eyes etc. leading to the deterioration of patients’ health over time and casting more burden on patients families and societies” Prof Al Khaja added.