Al-Nahdi launches "Wazen Hayatak" program and the largest weight loss competition in the world

Striving to achieve the goals of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 by transforming the Saudi community into a healthy society, Al Nahdi Medical Company, a pioneer in KSA’s medical sector, launched the “Wazen Hayatak” program. In addition, they unveiled the largest weight loss competition in the world, during a press conference held in "Granada Mall" in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

The program aims to bring some positive changes to the lifestyle of the Saudis, through a professional follow-up by the Nahdi Pharmacies Group. This program is accessible for anyone who visits the health education clinics affiliated with Nahdi, which are spread throughout the Kingdom. “Wazen Hayatak” is looking to achieve a new record number, by encouraging the contestants to lose 300 pounds of their total weight throughout 2020.

The Executive President of Marketing at Al-Nahdi Medical Company, Engineer Hani Ismail, pointed out in his speech during the conference that obesity is considered a prime source of health concern in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, stressing that: “Health reports indicate that obesity is one of the main causes of death. The world is obese, with about 59.4% of Saudis suffering from overweight. In addition, obesity continues to have a serious negative impact on the homeland’s health, economic and social standings. The annual spending volume, whether for treatment or prevention from this disease, is estimated at 19 billion riyals, according to recent reports for 2018."

Ismail added: "Al-Nahdi was the first in developing ways and approaches to contain obesity, by adopting a clear methodology and a long-term strategy in this direction. Thus, the "Wazen Hayatak" program comes in this framework to reduce obesity rates and contribute to enhancing the level of public health in the Kingdom."

For her part, Dr. Sarah Al-Turkistani, Head of Health and Community Services Department at Al-Nahdi Medical Company, explained the registration process in the program, as well as the importance of commitment by the participants to the periodic visits at the clinic in which their names were registered, in order to calculate the achieved weight loss.

Al-Turkistani emphasized the essential role that the program plays, not only in helping participants lose weight, but also in providing nutrition information and setting guidelines by specialists. These guidelines will instill healthy eating habits amongst the participants, in addition to preparing a diet which includes a list of meals that can be eaten during this stage.

She added: "We follow the system of flexibility or (macros), where you will find a large and delicious amount of food to achieve satiety. This system differs from the traditional disciplines which adopt the method of eating small amounts that do not contain nutrients. “Wazen Hayatak” program will assist in the process of eliminating fats from any part of the body, by eating nutritious food and reducing the consumption of unhealthy and greasy foods, as well as starchy and sugary foods."

The conference featured the live participation of youth on social media, led by Saud Al-Dakhil, during which she explained all the details about the program. Furthermore, Coach Muhannad Shaabeen from “Soic Sports Academy” also put on a fun sports show for the audience.