Photo has been used for illustrative purposes.

Mariecar Jara-Puyod, Senior Reporter

A Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHaP)-approved series of animation conceptualised and produced in the UAE was launched on Monday afternoon in Dubai to help address the growing need to continually spread behavioural changes against non-communicable diseases on the global scale.

The animation series is titled “Health Matters By Dr. Adams” by the Research & Development (R&D) and Medical Division of Pfizer Upjohn, a division of the US pharmaceutical company Pfizer, which has been into solutions against NCDs such as cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and its co-morbidities of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and high cholesterol levels, cancers, and mental or psychological problems.

“Health Matters By Dr. Adams” has been included in the entertainment system of Emirates Airlines beginning Oct. 1.

On Monday as well, Dubai Health Authority (DHA) director general Humaid Al Qutami led the kick-off ceremonies for the “Health Talks” series of interactive open discussion sessions among medical/health officials and professionals that will provide a platform for the exchange of knowledge and experiences for smart solutions towards a healthier and more sustainable society.

The two launches coincided with the release of an alert from a bariatric psychologist/mental health expert at Cleveland Clinic-US, supporting the observation of UAE-based medical specialists that media, primarily the social media, has become the source of non-scientifically and non-evidenced-based diet and weight loss plans which eventually make chronic illnesses or NCDs more severe.

The alert from Dr Kasey Goodpaster was about the rise of orthorexia nervosa, a relatively recently identified eating disorder as buoyed by blogs and posts.

“Thanks to the proliferation of posts and blogs, there is so much available information about different diets, and sadly, a lot is not scientifically grounded. Once someone starts following a certain eating plan and receives positive reinforcement for this behaviour through comments, likes, shares and so on, he or she will be encouraged to continue. People tend to follow, not knowing that it is just a small representation of what the poster actually eats, not the complete picture.”  

At the animation series launch, MoHaP-Public Health Policy and Licensing Sector assistant undersecretary Dr Amin Hussein Al Amiri hailed the public-private partnership initiated by the private sector saying it is a “unique” scheme that “will benefit everyone.”

It will not only help spike the awareness of all the airline passengers regarding NCDs but more importantly help them imbibe healthful living and spread this around, leading to more satisfying, productive lives around the world.

“Despite significant medical advancements, NCDs, such as (CVDs), continue to be the leading causes of death and disability. (At 41 million a year) these account for 71 per cent of all deaths worldwide, 85 per cent (34,850,000) deaths of which in emerging markets (in Latin America, Asia and Africa).”

Saying that NCDs have become an economic burden to all governments at the current rate of $832 billion, Al Amiri added the campaign is a booster to the ongoing UAE health programmes.

He was happy to note that Pfizer Upjohn-Emerging Markets regional president Menassie Taddese pointed out social responsibility, “going beyond the pill and helping finding solutions to health concerns.

On the sidelines, both Emirates Airlines-Medical Services vice president Dr. Richard Jenkens and Pfizer Upjohn-Global R&D and Medical president Dr. Amrit Ray said the cartoon videos have been scripted with no medical jargons and created in a “fun approach” so as not to intimidate but encourage the viewers to learn about the nastiness of NCDs and seek advice from the appropriate medical practitioners.

When asked on whether the videos carry recommendations for diet-weight loss plans, Ray who highlighted the importance of seeding trust for the success of any project, said all information in the videos are based on “the most recent” conclusions from well-grounded scientific and evidenced-based local/national/international research works in addition to the latest guidelines from local/national/international health bodies such as the World Health Organisation.