Deputy Minister of Health: Employing Latest Technologies to Achieve Highest Safety Standards in Obesity Treatment
Sheikh Salman Al-Khalifa Al-Sabah stresses a comprehensive treatment plan for obesity that goes beyond surgery.
Translated by Qiyas from الراي — Original source
Kuwait’s Undersecretary of Health, Sheikh Dr. Salman Khalifa Al-Sabah, stressed on Monday the importance of leveraging the latest medical technologies and modern pharmacological treatments to achieve the highest safety standards in treating obesity patients, noting that the obesity treatment pathway relies on a comprehensive therapeutic plan that goes beyond surgical intervention.
These remarks were made by the Undersecretary during his speech at the opening of the Fourth Kuwait Obesity Conference, themed “Recent Medical and Surgical Advances in Obesity Treatment,” which is scheduled to last two days and features a distinguished group of surgeons, physicians, nutritionists, mental health specialists, and family medicine experts from within Kuwait and abroad.
Sheikh Dr. Salman Al-Sabah clarified that the obesity treatment pathway does not begin in the operating room, nor does it end with discharge; rather, it starts with a precise and comprehensive assessment of the patient’s condition, leading to the selection of the most appropriate treatment and long-term follow-up.
He pointed out that bariatric surgery constitutes a vital and suitable option for those whose health conditions warrant it, while simultaneously noting that modern pharmacological treatments, particularly those based on the GLP-1 pathway, have added new options to a comprehensive plan that integrates follow-up care, nutrition, and physical activity, with patient safety and sustained improvement remaining the key benchmarks.
He highlighted that estimates from the World Health Organization underscore the scale of shared responsibility, as one in seven people worldwide lives with obesity, with the number of affected adults reaching approximately 940 million, representing nearly 16 percent of the global adult population.
Undersecretary Al-Sabah expressed his appreciation to the conference chairman, the organizing committees, and the conference organizers for their efforts in hosting this scientific forum, which discusses recent medical and surgical advances, training on modern surgical staplers, the safe use of medications, and dialogue on the standards and regulations governing bariatric surgeries and prescription treatments.
For his part, Conference Chairman Dr. Shihab Krof stated that obesity treatment is a shared responsibility involving the integration of various medical specialties, including nutrition, internal medicine, family medicine, and mental health, alongside surgery.
He explained that the Nutrition and Feeding Department has a monitoring program through which an annual report indicates that approximately 75 percent of Kuwait’s population suffers from overweight and obesity (30 percent among men and 35 percent among women).
