Abu Dhabi: Mubadala Health’s Imperial College London Diabetes Centre (ICLDC) has become the first such facility in Abu Dhabi and the third in the UAE to be accredited as a Collaborating Centre for Obesity Management (COM) by the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO).
Under the EASO COM scheme, obesity management centres are accredited against a set of stringent criteria and in accordance with accepted European and academic guidelines to ensure consistently high standards in different countries across the world.
The EASO Obesity Management Task Force completed its assessment of ICLDC and granted it an initial two-year EASO International Affiliate COM status from April 1 this year. In addition, the body has recognised two of ICLDC’s experts – Dr Mohgah El Sheikh and Dr Matthew Allum, both consultant endocrinologists and diabetologists – as EASO National Clinical Fellows.
Dr Alya Al Mazrouei, ICLDC acting executive director, said: “We are delighted to have received this recognition, which affirms our expertise in managing obesity alongside diabetes. In addition, it is the goal of Mubadala Health and ICLDC to offer world-class services to the UAE and region, and this successful evaluation of our standards and our experts by the EASO task force proves that we are accomplishing this.”
Risk of developing Type 2 diabetes
Dr El Sheikh, who is also ICLDC’s clinical lead for obesity and metabolic surgery, said: “Obesity is believed to account for 80-85 per cent of the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, while research suggests that people with obesity can more than halve their risk of developing type 2 diabetes by losing 5-10 per cent of their body weight.”
Dr Al Mazrouei added that in addition to the treatment of obesity through dietary approaches, through medication and addressing underlying conditions, ICLDC also works closely with the bariatric surgeons at its fellow Mubadala partner, Healthpoint, which is accredited as a Centre of Excellence by another international body, the Surgical Review Corporation.
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Of these international accreditations, Dr Al Mazrouei explained: “Obesity is a global epidemic with serious health, economic and social consequences. So, it is important for countries to work together and share knowledge to ensure a consistent and optimal approach is adopted. As such, it is important for ICLDC to work with organisations such as EASO and the World Obesity Federation on projects that include raising international awareness and formulating guidelines to tackle obesity.”
Dr El Sheikh added that as a member of the EASO COM network, ICLDC will also have the opportunity to assist the network in its objective of developing consensus guidelines on several obesity management issues.
