Imperial College London Diabetes Centre is set to host more than 140 medical specialists at a diabetes conference to be held on October 20 and 21 in Abu Dhabi.

The inaugural Advanced Diabetes Conference is set to be an annual event and this year an expert speaker line-up will table trending topics including thyroid disorders, renal complications, diabetes in children, and bariatric surgery, said a statement.

Dr Nader Lessan, consultant endocrinologist, honourary lecturer and a member of the conference organising committee, noted that bariatric surgery is shown to be particularly useful for those living with both diabetes and obesity.

“The pros and cons of bariatric surgery will come under hard debate as demand for the procedure is pegged to rise,” he said.

Maha Taysir Barakat, the director general of Abu Dhabi’s Health Authority (HAAD) will chair the conference, with a keynote address expected to offer some new insights to help manage diabetes.

The conference delegates are also being invited to take part in a public health awareness campaign, titled ‘Start Walking,’ which was launched recently.

“The conference is going all-out to support these two prongs by practicing what we preach and walking a kilometre around ICLDC, contributing 200,000 steps to the Start Walking target,” said Dr Lessan.

“Medical insights and procedures are crucial in the research and treatment of diabetes and its many related complications. However, we can’t stress enough that it is the smart, simple steps of a balanced diet and regular exercise that help manage and even prevent diabetes,” he added.

Prof Barakat confirmed that maintaining a healthy diet and taking a 30-minute brisk walk every day has been shown to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes by up to 58 per cent. - TradeArabia News Service