As Qatar struggles to tackle its rising obesity problem through awareness campaigns about nutrition and exercise, more residents are opting for a quicker fix – liposuction. 

The demand for the procedure – and other cosmetic surgeries such as rhinoplasty – at HMC hospitals is such that wait lists for procedures exceed a year and a half, Dr. Habib al Basti, senior consultant plastic surgeon, told Qatar Tribune.

The vast majority of Qatari adults are overweight, do not eat enough produce and get very little physical activity, increasing the risk of diabetes, according to a recent Supreme Council of Health survey.

Lifestyle changes are needed to ensure future generations stay healthy, health officials have said.

Meanwhile, HMC, which treats nationals for free, conducted some 10,000 plastic surgery procedures last year, said al Basti, who made his remarks on the sidelines of the 1st Fit4Forum Exhibition & Conference.

Earlier this year, another HMC doctor said there are “thousands” of patients on a two-year waitlist for nose jobs.

Cosmetic surgeries appear most popular among young men and women between the ages of 25 and 45, the Tribune reports.

“I believe this is due to the new and globalized media, that a category of young people will come in with a magazine and ask us to get them an exact nose as a model in the mag,” senior consultant surgeon Dr. Saed Kaldari previously said.

Thoughts?

Credit: Photo by David Edwards