Biomedical Engineering students assessed the health of staff faculty and students
Khalifa University’s Biomedical Engineering department held a special “Anti-Obesity” Day at its Abu Dhabi campus on May 20th 2014. The faculty and students carried out several health assessments on interested students staff and faculty in order to determine their health and fitness levels as part of Khalifa University’s commitment to promoting healthy lifestyles among its community.
Several activities and assessments were carried out during the day including body composition assessments a fitness test a blood group diet test and testing for the obesity gene. Participants were also given advice on diet how to exercise effectively and their metabolic age. There were also games and raffle prizes throughout the day.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) the prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide at alarming rates. People classified as obese have a higher risk of Type II Diabetes cardiovascular disease and cancer. The GCC has some of the highest obesity rates in the world and the highest rate of Type II Diabetes and recent studies show that over 30% of children in the UAE are classified as overweight or obese which suggests a childhood obesity epidemic.
“Promoting the health and wellbeing of our community is very important to us ” said Dr. Habiba Al Safar Assistant Professor at the Biomedical Engineering Program and the Coordinator of the event. “Obesity and diabetes rates are very high in the UAE and it is health concern for everyone that needs to be addressed. Days like this one not only allow our community to benefit from free thorough health assessments that they might otherwise not choose to seek out it also gives our biomedical engineering students important real world experience in health care.”
Khalifa University’s B.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering program integrates engineering and molecular and cellular biology. The program is designed to impart knowledge of contemporary issues relevant to the health challenges in the UAE and at the forefront of biomedical engineering research in student-centered collaborative learning environments.
The program’s overall goal is to produce high quality engineers who will be leaders in their field and who are well equipped to pursue further graduate degrees medical school or professional careers.
