Leading international obesity expert Professor Philip James will address over 200 United Arab Emirates (UAE) doctors and pharmacists in the Renaissance Dubai on May 26, stated a press release.
The Chairman of the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) and Director of the Public Health Policy Group, Prof. James will hold a symposium entitled ‘Obesity; developing new standards for medical intervention'.
The symposium will be chaired by Dr. Ali Bakir, Head of the Endocrinology Department, Mafraq Hospital and the principal investigator of the Emirates National Diabetes Study (ENDCAD) which discovered that 74 percent of the random group studied were either overweight or obese. The meeting is being sponsored by Abbott Laboratories and Gulf Drug Establishment.
Professor James has played a leading role in raising international awareness of obesity. As chairman of the IOTF, he gathered together a large group of leading international experts to produce a report, now adopted by the World Health Organisation, which documents the growing levels of obesity and proposes ways in which countries can tackle this global problem.
He was also the principal investigator of a landmark trial in obesity called the STORM trial, which showed that intervention was necessary not only to lose weight but to maintain weight loss over a long time. The drug used in the study was Reductil.
The symposium will deal with patient identification and assessment and initiation of weight management. Prof. James will also discuss the role of Sibutramine (Reductil) in a weight management program. Reductil has demonstrated effectiveness for both weight loss and maintenance of weight loss. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
