Alsuwaidi bagged a second gold for the Emirates in the Adults Male -56 Kg category as Thailand topped the medal table on day one
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High prevalence of childhood obesity in the UAE is keeping parents and health officials worried. While experts advise parents to focus on eating well and exercising to keep their children healthy, morbidly obese kids have the option of undergoing bariatric surgery only after meeting certain criteria.
Health authorities in the UAE, however, are approaching the issue of bariatric surgery in children with caution despite the procedure being carried out in countries such as the US where obesity is a major health issue.
Bariatric surgery on youngest EmiratiMaha Salem is possibly the youngest girl in the world to undergo bariatric surgery at the age of four.Dr Nadler performed the surgery on the young Emirati in 2014 after she weighed 69kg - at least 40kg more than any average four-year-old would weigh. He performed similar surgeries on three other children weighing more or less the same. "She had a unique condition and was already showing signs of developing diabetes," said Dr Nadler. She was also withdrawn and inactive due to her weight. Maha also had a rare genetic deficiency called homozygous MC4R that makes her prone to obesity. Prior to this point, many healthcare professionals believed obese children with this deficiency would not benefit from surgery. A small study, published in the International Journal of Obesity, of four children (three from the UAE and one from Kuwait), showed that patients with this genetic condition experienced significant weight loss and overall health improvement following bariatric surgery. Two of the patients, aged four and eight, had their surgery at Children's National, while the others had surgery in the UAE. The surgery, known as vertical sleeve gastrostomy (VSG) permanently reduces the size of the stomach by 80 per cent or more. Three of the four children, who, prior to surgery, were profoundly obese with a series of ailments related to the disease, have made significant weight loss and overall health improvements. One of those, who was eight-year-old, was over 350 pounds (158kg), and so debilitated that she was wheelchair bound. "Before the surgery, the four-year-old already had signs of diabetes, and if we waited and did not intervene, she may have been in the situation of the eight-year-old," said Dr Nadler. "I wasn't willing to watch her go through the same evolution." "Now the older child no longer needs a wheelchair to move around, and the four-year-old is basically a completely different person, being very active. This surgery was just transformational," he added. Maha's mother told Khaleej Times that she sleeps well now as compared to earlier when she couldn't even eat well. |
How to keep children healthy· Children should be provided healthy foods from a young age and fast-foods should be limited.· Children and teens should never be placed on a weight reduction diet without the consultation of a healthcare provider. · Parents should cut out the unhealthy fats and sweets and they should prepare their children's favourite meals in a healthier manner. · Parents should cut out juices and other unnecessary sources of sugar from their children's diet and they should replace it with complex carbohydrates and natural sugars. · They should provide children lean sources of meat and limit portion sizes. · Children's lunch boxes should have healthy nutritious meals. · Parents need to adopt a healthy lifestyle because children mirror what they see. |
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