The Covid-19 pandemic has had a direct impact on the weight of the population in the UAE with over half the country suffering from increased weight gain and the concerns it comes with. This shocking truth has led to a community that has a new wave of pandemic health concerns and in turn, Allurion has announced its mission to help the UAE lose weight successfully and safely long term.

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 as a global pandemic. Within weeks, the UAE population went home to shelter in place for what they thought would be a few weeks, hoping that their sacrifice would stop the spread of Coronavirus. Furthermore, in October 2020 a report was released by Stress in AmericaTM 2020 titled A National Mental Health Crisis, here the American Psychological Association issued a warning to the world about the impact of such stressful times on long-term physical and mental health.

It warned that the world would face a second pandemic, one that would persist even after the physical threat of the virus has been addressed. The Allurion 2021 YouGov Survey conducted this April, indicated this is indeed coming to fruition. Today, weight is the second personal aspect about which UAE residents are less happy, just behind their financial situation. It creates more concerns than one’s job and personal relationships and only worries about one’s own and loved ones’ health have caused more stress.

The crux of the issue lies in the fact that the Coronavirus pandemic and resulting lockdowns have led to dramatic changes in health behaviors, prompting people in the UAE to cut back on physical activity and eat more. Interestingly, besides being less physically active, the main cause of weight gain in the UAE is snacking, with 53% of the UAE residents eating more frequently between meals than they used to. The result is now 47% of UAE residents eat more than they used to do before the pandemic. This increased weight-gain has driven anxiety levels higher and disrupted sleep.

These numbers are further amplified by the pre-Covid 19 statistics that two in three people were already overweight in the UAE. Obesity has been the leading health problem in the UAE for many years, where the majority of the population has dangerously high body weights. In 2019 Zayed Military Hospital conducted a survey further raising the seriousness of the obesity problem, highlighting that 70% of the Emirati male population were obese. Furthermore, the most recent study from the United States found the prevalence of diabetes in individuals aged between 20 and 44 was 3.3 percent. Overall, the UAE ranked highest in diabetes (4.7 percent) and hypertension and came in a very close second to the USA for obesity.

With weight gain and stress going hand in hand, there is a need for immediate action and a world-first by Allurion is addressing this much-needed change. No weight loss programme is a magic bullet and an effective programme is based on good healthcare and good science. With this in mind, the Allurion program takes a holistic approach to losing weight and more importantly, reducing the risk of having diseases attributed to being overweight or obese, including, cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and polycystic ovary syndrome to name but a few.

With around 60,000 patients who have sought out its help to date, the Allurion Balloon (formally known as the Elipse Gastric Balloon) is a holistic method that requires no surgical insertion or even anaesthesia, it is a world-first technology allowing patients to lose an average of 10 to 15% of their body weight within that time frame and tackle the post-pandemic weight issue and in turn stress trigger.

For more information, please visit https://allurion.com/en/find-clinic