About 60 per cent of Bahrainis, aged 19 to 65, are either obese or overweight, according to a consultant.

The problem of being overweight and obese in Bahrain is now assuming draconian proportions and needs to be tackled, said consultant family physician and nutrition committee supervisor Dr Abeer Al Ghawi.

She was speaking at a launch ceremony for the country's first specialised nutrition clinic at the National Bank of Bahrain Health Centre, Dair.

"This is the reason the Health Ministry has set up the first of these specialised clinics that will deal with only such problems" Dr Al Ghawi told the Gulf Daily News, our sister newspaper, on the sidelines of the event.

"The highest prevalence of overweight and obesity is in the Muharraq and Arad areas so it was thought proper to begin from Dair," she said.

"The plan is to conduct a study among the patients in the region in the next six months and determine how they have benefited."

Dr Al Ghawi said this would ultimately lead of such clinics opening in every health centre in Bahrain within five years.

The opening ceremony was attended by ministry assistant under-secretary for primary care and public health Dr Mariam Al Jalahma and nutrition section head Dr Khairya Moosa.

Dr Al Ghawi said all patients who are suffering from the condition and are diabetic or hypertensive will be examined at the clinic by a team of five experts, including a physician, nurse, dietician, health education specialist and a physiotherapist.

"The idea is to advice them on good eating habits, the importance of exercise, and on ways to 'self-manage' themselves," she said.

"The education of the patient is a must and if we achieve that and create an aware patient, it is a large part of the battle won already." Initially, the clinic will work on Tuesday and Thursday. -TradeArabia News Service