3rd Congress of Jordanian Society for Obesity Surgery concludes

AMMAN — The 3rd Congress of the Jordanian Society for Obesity Surgery (JSOS), titled “Obesity and Metabolic Surgery” concluded on Saturday evening.

The Congress, which is held over the course of three days and organised by the JSOS in cooperation with a number of Jordanian medical societies from various specialties, opened on Thursday evening.

The opening ceremony was preceded by a workshop in Al Kindi Hospital, which included a live-streaming of bariatric surgeries within the conference room.

In his speech, Chairman of the Scientific Committee of the Congress Tagleb Mazahreh said that “the health of Jordanian citizens and the development of the educational and vocational medical sector was and still is in the forefront of His Majesty King Abdullah’s concerns”.

He added that the JSOS’ congress is “an important step in that direction”, as it is organised with the participation of a number of specialised medical professionals and experts.

President of the Congress Sami Salem Ahmad noted that exchanging expertise with other local and global professionals in the field of obesity and other medical fields is one of the main goals of this yearly conference.

“Through these conferences, we communicate with our colleagues in and outside of Jordan to learn about the latest medical and technical innovations and developments,” he said, adding that obesity is closely linked with various diseases.

“More than 30 medically recognised diseases are caused by obesity. Therefore, the coming together of these various medical societies in order to create a multidisciplinary scientific programme is a great achievement,” Ahmad said.

He also pointed out that Jordan, which is “a pioneering country in obesity surgery”, is home to “many distinguished and globally renowned obesity surgeons”.

Roughly 12,000 obesity surgeries are performed every year in Jordan, according to Ahmad, who noted that this number may have witnessed a slight decrease following the pandemic.

Deputising for Minister of Health Firas Al Hawari, Emad Abu Yaqeen said that the Ministry of Health began training its medical personnel in the field of bariatric surgery 20 years ago.

“Thousands of bariatric surgeries have been conducted in Al Bashir Hospital, Prince Hamza Hospital, Al Zarqa Governmental Hospital and Al Karak Governmental Hospital,” he added.

Abu Yaqeen also pointed out that Jordan considers obesity “as one of the most prominent risk factors associated with chronic diseases, and diseases of both the muscular and circular system. Therefore it’s important to raise people’s awareness on the risks and negative effects of obesity on their health”.

Spreading awareness within the public sphere on the issue of obesity along with its dangers and complications is one of the JSOS’ main goals, said Mazahreh.

Its role also includes “strengthening societal and scientific ties between its registered members, holding scientific conferences and meetings in Jordan, conducting research and scientific studies on the prevention and treatment of obesity, and participating in international conferences and meetings”, he added.

The Jordanian Society for Obesity Surgery was established in 2015, and it officially became a part of the Jordan Medical Association in 2017, according to its website.

The opening ceremony on Thursday was followed by a medical exhibition, while the last two days of the congress featured scientific workshops targeting doctors, nurses and nutritionists.