The Young Scientists in Aquaculture
Panorama
Beat and Reverse Your Pre-Diabetes
Mind Over Matter
Experts Meet to Discuss Sustainable Tourism
News Update
Oman Sees
Sharp Decline in
Fertility Rate
Department of Public
Relations and Information
Sultan Qaboos University
Issue 301
Straight Talk
Prof. Najib Al Khaja
Prof. Najib Al Khaja is the Secretary General of the
Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award
for Medical Sciences. He spoke to Horizon while
attending the 25th General Meeting of the World
Academy of Sciences (TWAS) in Muscat, Oman.
of the Third World countries. However, scientists from the developing countries focus on issues pertaining to their own countries
such as poverty, desertification, water scarcity, certain diseases
which are found in third world countries. For example, scientists
from developing countries are more concerned about the recent
Ebola outbreak in Africa. We are always looking for development of vaccines or medicines from developed countries for certain reasons such as their infrastructure and advanced facilities
for developing the treatment methods. However, the main cause
of the disease is not the lack of vaccines, but the living conditions in the area, lack of health care services, medical doctors,
and proper sewerage system and other basic requirements for
any society.
Horizon: How would you comment on the higher educational
system in the GCC countries?
Prof. Al Khaja: The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has a
short history of around 50 years. This is a small period when you
consider advancements in terms of nation building exercise. In
the past the Gulf countries were dominated by backwardness
and lack of knowledge, and there was a lot of deep-rooted problems in the region. However, nowadays our institutions give a
great attention to education, the matter which change the scenario and lead us to have good universities and educational institutions. Having these universities has a positive effect in the rehabilitation of skilled cadres, in addition to the scientific research
to solve a lot of issues. For the academic and scientific programs,
I think some courses as well as the educational system are to be
re-examined in order to keep pace with the advancements in science and knowledge creation. Nevertheless, there are differences
in approach between the developed western countries, the Arab
countries or the third world countries. The developed countries
pay attention to sciences that are focus on nuclear energy, space
sciences and advanced technologies such as robotics, whereas
our countries care about issues that affects our communities,
such as water scarcity, land degradation or basic healthcare.
Horizon: As Secretary General, can you say a few words about
Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences?
Prof. Al Khaja: The goal of the Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al
Horizon: How would you comment on the TWAS and the importance of its activities in the developing countries?
Prof Al Khaja: These meetings are very important and attract
a large number of scientists from the Third World countries, who
work hard to bring scientific development in the developed countries. They try to answer the questions and solve the problems
which affect their societies. As an organization, TWAS focuses on
these issues, helps scientists to share their experiences in solving
major problems facing developing countries.
Horizon: What are the challenges that the Third World countries
face in terms of development of science and scientific research?
Prof. Al Khaja: The interests of the developed countries differ
from those of the developing countries. As developed countries focus on different aspects of sciences through the development of
scientific research related to industries and medicine. They achieve
advanced levels on scientific research and overcome the problems
10 December 2014
Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences, which was established in
1999, to honor scientists from every part of the world who tirelessly pursue distinctive medical research that serves the larger
interests of humanity. This award is one of the most outstanding awards from the GCC countries, and has consistently acted
as a motivating force towards promoting the medical services
by honoring the scientists and the distinct working individuals
and organizations in academic and therapeutic scopes alongside
with medical and humanitarian services all over the world. The
Award clearly recognizes the importance of scientific research in
boosting the progress of UAE and its publication, and plays a
proactive role in funding domestic health researches through a
pioneering program. The Award has proved to be widely successful, as it has been recognized by international observers and was
testified by leading researchers vying for the award. The Award’s
role has been expanded to reach new fields aiming at boosting
the development procedures in all aspects of the medical field. In
this context, the Award sets a system to honor the distinct working individuals and organizations in academic and therapeutic
scopes alongside with medical and humanitarian services. The
Award puts into consideration all who are contributing in alleviating the patients’ suffering and caring about the society’s health
through diversity of the awards’ categories globally, regionally
and locally in addition to establishing mechanisms that contribute to develop the continuing medical education programs
through managing and sponsoring several medical conferences
and training programs. The Award has a platform to publish all
original research papers through its online journal which has several latest features and it is open to all individual researchers and
organization globally.
View Point
Staying Fit
Lecture halls, computer labs, cafeterias, and libraries have something in
common. These are the places that students spend so much of their time
in sedentary pursuits. It is true that hours of studying burn mental energy.
However our body and mind still need physical exercise to function at
their peak. The importance of exercise is nothing new. As Thomas Jefferson
rightly pointed out, “a strong body makes the mind strong.”
Mohamed Salem Al Ghailani
Editorial Supervision
Santhosh Muthalath
Senior Editor
Sara Al Gheilani
Nasebah Al Muharrami
Translation
Ahlam Al Wahaibi
Design & Layout
Photography Dept., CET
Photography
Salim Al Sudairi
Circulation
SQU-info
A study by researchers at Tufts University found that students who said
they exercised at least three days a week were more likely to report a better state of physical health and greater happiness than those who didn’t
exercise. This indicates that the true benefits of exercise may not come right
after a workout but from a longer commitment to regular activity. Brisk
walking, jogging, and swimming are easy ways to boost your heart rate
and promote cardiovascular health. Exercise can also help lower blood
pressure and counter stress. You’ll likely discover a subtler benefit of exercise as well: greater self-confidence. This may make it easier for students
to participate in class and help them perform well in academic and social
situations.
During winter months, walking from the college to the main library and
back would be a good option for SQU community. You don’t have to use
own car or the transport buses to commute. This serves the purpose of exercising too. Instead of using the elevators, people can take the stairs. Using
the covered corridors that runs across the university buildings also help
those people at SQU to who really need warming up in between working
hours regardless of the weather condition. Those who really look for serious workouts, there are many options. The university has provide ample
facilities for students to play games and do physical training. To boost the
benefits of proper exercise, people should focus on getting balanced nutrition, enough water to stay hydrated, and adequate sleep.
Most experts do not insist on two hours of daily exercise. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that people get at least 60
minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity most days of the week.
Those who think they have no time for bodily exercise will sooner or later
have to find time for illness! True enjoyment comes from activity of the
mind and exercise of the body; the two are ever united.
@SQU-info
Horizon invites contributions from SQU members of staff and faculty. Contributions in the form of
articles, news, travelogues, stories of unique and interesting experiences, encounters, etc., are welcome. Contributions may be edited for the sake of clarity and length. Please send your contributions
to horizon@squ.edu.om preferably, as MSWord attachments. Authors will be suitably credited.
The views and opinions expressed in the articles published in this newsletter are those of the authors
and are not to be construed as the official views of the publication. Horizon is published three times a
month by the Department of Public Relations and Information, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 50,
P.C. 123, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.
Phone: +968 24141045
E-mail: horizon@squ.edu.om
10 December 2014
P2
Fax: +968 24413 391
Website: www.squ.edu.om
Panorama
The Young
Scientists
in
Aquaculture
By: By Sara Al-Balushi
Department of Marine Science & Fisheries
Aquaculture is considered as one of the greatest answers to
food shortage around the world. It is one of the fastest growing industries since it contributes in increasing the national
income of many countries; therefore it has great potential for
economic investment.
ture production in the sultanate. The primary growth result
is very optimistic since that the barramundi reached commercial size (around 700 g) after the initial weight of only
6 grams, in just 8 months of culturing at the aquaculture experimental station, AES, SQU.
Oman is still in the early stages of aquaculture. The main focus right now is on research to insure the feasibility and sustainability of this sector. There are two main research organizations in Oman; the first is the Ministry of Agriculture and
Fisheries through research centers, and the second one is the
Department of Marine Science and Fisheries (MSF), College
of Agricultural & Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University.
The department has made a great research effort on different
species of marine organisms to find out their possibility for
commercialization in the Omani environment. Many studies
have been done through scientific experiments at the Marine
Aquaculture Experimental Station at Al-Hail (belonging to
SQU) and at the Agricultural Experiment Station (AES) at the
university. Many prominent results have been shown from
the studies with various aspects. Among them, numerous
results on opportunities of culturing marine fish in the different degrees of salinities are astonishingly eye-catching.
The other research field is to find optimum population density for fish in an aquaculture environment to ensure healthy
growth and production cost reduction. The main objective
of these investigations is focusing on producing high quality
fish products to maintain food security in Oman.
These researches were all carried out under the supervision of Dr. Gilha Yoon, assistant professor at MSF. Dr. Yoon
encourages and supervises undergraduate students to go
through the following experiments:
1) To find the optimum salinity for barramundi culture
2) To find the best density of fish to maximize aquaculture
efficacy
3) Routine disease monitoring of possible outbreak of diseases that could possibly infect barramundi and following
with finding prevention and treatment methods
4) To design suitable culture systems for barramundi such
as water recycling system, raceway system with periodically
changing water and bioflock culture method (zero exchange
water)
In December 2003, MSF introduced a new species of fish that
had never been cultured in the country before. Going by the
name of Asian seabass, Lates calcarifer, known otherwise as
barramundi, this species is one of the most favorable fishes
around the world for its pleasant taste and more edible portion. These are probably the reasons for choosing barramundis to be cultured, in addition to the abilities of this species to
cope with different degrees of salinity in both fresh and seawater. It also grows very fast: it can reach the commercial size
in just six months after hatching. The research result in culturing barramundi in an Omani water environment shows
that the barramundi can be grown in water temperatures
ranging between 20-35 Cº in both freshwater and saltwater.
This outcome has encouraged increments for future aquacul-
Among above mentioned researches, two projects won the
National Grant, part of the Faculty Mentored Undergraduate
Research Award Program (FURAP) from the Research Council in the Sultanate of Oman. Dr. Yoon said, “I am very proud
of my students and this grant is significant in student exploration because not only will my students have a chance to
run their own research projects but they will also have confidence to overcome any obstacles in the future.” The first project is on finding the best feed for barramundi considering
many aspects such as growth, survival, and immune stimulants, being conducted by Mr. Mohammed Al-Naamani and
Mr. Haitham Al-Gheilani. The second project is on how to
reuse wastewater/discarded water for aquaculture uses and
for agricultural irrigation. These results will be very useful
for water limited areas. Students involved are Mr. Ahmed AlAlawi, Mr. Bader Al-Bawiqi, Mr. Mohammed Al-Mahfudhi,
Miss Sara Al-Balushi and Miss Uhoud Al-Hadrami. Mr. Bader Al-Bawiqi who is the chairman of the student aquaculture
group said, “The work is harder than I expected but I personally believe that this way, struggling, thinking, trying and
solving, is the right way for the young generation to create a
bright future for my and their country.”
P7 10 December 2014
News Round Up
Assistant VC Addresses
RTPC Participants
HH Sayyidah Dr. Mona bint Fahad Al Said, Assistant Vice Chancellor
for International Cooperation, Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), and
Hilda Al Hinai, Deputy Permanent Representative of Oman to WTO,
addressed the participants of the first WTO Regional Trade Policy
Course for the Arab and Middle East jointly organized by WTO and
SQU. HH Sayyidah Dr. Mona bint Fahad Al Said, gave an overview
of the activities of the International Cooperation Office at SQU. She
said that SQU is keen to boost ties with reputed international institutions having similar interests in academic and research fields. “SQU
hosted research workshops with Swedish and Iranian institutions. We
are planning to host similar workshops with Finnish, Polish and Swiss
universities. SQU promotes foreign language teaching and several universities are sending their students to us to learn Arabic language and
literature”, Sayyida Dr. Mona said. The Assistant Vice Chancellor further said that it has been a privilege for SQU to host first WTO Regional
Trade Policy Course for the Arab and Middle East region and to host
the WTO Chair. “We would like WTO to extend its support to SQU in
terms of student training programs and capacity building”.
Hilda Al Hinai, Deputy Permanent Representative of Oman to WTO,
said that WTO has come up with an initiative for the Arab countries by
providing grant for training a person from that country. “In fact there
are some challenges faced the Arabic countries at WTO; the countries
evade from the presidency of the Arab Group and only a few Arab
countries come out to head the group, due to the high responsibility
associated with this position or the lack of enough technical support.
We are facing some problems in our initiatives to make Arabic one of
the official languages of WTO. In order to achieve this, there should be
a consensus among the member states. In the technical side, there is the
issue of availability of interpretation, and agreement of terminologies
among the Arab countries ’’, she said.
Army Delegation at SQU
A delegation from Royal Army of Oman visited SQU recently. The visit
included a tour to the College of Science, where Dr. Al Saeed El-Shafei
from the Department of Chemistry presented a lecture on chemical disinfection. The team visited the chemistry Labs, Grand Hall, Omani
Studies Center and the Main Library at SQU.
10 December 2014
P6
Students Bag Medals at SIIF
A number of SQU students won the gold and bronze medals while taking part in Seoul International Invention Fair (SIIF), that was held in
Seoul, South Korea. The invention tilted ‘Separating of Gases Using
Natural Omani Resources’ by the Petroleum & Chemical Engineering
Department at the College of Engineering won the gold medal. The invention came first at the Engineering forum.
The invention titled ‘the Reverse Magnetic Fields’ by the Geology Department at the College of Science won the bronze medal. The research
came first at the Science Festival. A total of 702 inventions from 31
countries had competed at the fair organized by the Korean Invention
Promotion Association and IP Office, in South Korea. The event was
supported by WIPO and IFIA.
Examining Effectiveness of
Diabetes Education
Oman has 199.78 per 1000 cases of diabetes mellitus (DM) between 2079 years. The outpatient morbidity among Omani men is 141 per 10,000
males and women is 290 per 10,000 females. Good self-care management and adherence to appropriate self-care practices can reduce the
risk of developing complications. Enhancing self-efficacy and self-care
activities for adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are ongoing
challenges for nurses worldwide. Effective diabetes education program
among adults with T2DM relies on educational interventions provided
by registered and diabetes nurses. There is a need for a diabetes nurse
educator in hospitals for improving diabetes self-management. In this
context, the College of Nursing at SQU is conducting a study to examine the effectiveness of diabetes education program on adherence to
self- care activities, self-efficacy and glycosylated haemaglobin (HbA1c)
among adults with T2DM in Oman.
Dr. Melba Sheila D’Souza, Assistant Professor in the College of Nursing and the principal investigator of this study, said that randomized
controlled trial is conducted in the diabetes clinics in a public hospital
among Omani adults aged 18 years and above with known T2DM. “A
total of 160 Omani adults with T2DM were randomly assigned to either
an intervention group or a control group. The intervention group is provided the diabetes education program for 3 days delivered in the diabetes clinics. The outcome measures are adherence to self-care, self-efficacy and HbA1c at baseline and end of intervention for both groups”,
she explained. The research team includes registered nurses, dieticians,
physiotherapists and medical doctors. The study is done in collaboration with the Family Medicine and Public Health, Nursing DepartmentSQU Hospital, and the College of Nursing.
Dr. Melba further said that the study findings would be useful for planning best strategies for self-care management to enable adults with
T2DM to manage diabetes effectively and facilitate improved HbA1c.
“The diabetes education program provided by the nurses will be culturally tailored for adults with T2DM in Oman based on baseline information. This will enable implementation of diabetes education program to
improve adherence and self-management of diabetes for glycemic control among adults with T2DM in Oman”, she concluded.
News Update
Exhibition on
Educational Technology
The Educational Technology Group at the College of Education at SQU,
organized an exhibition of their projects and inventions under the
theme “Computer Algorithms”. The three day exhibition which was
also accompanied by a series of workshops, was opened under the patronage of Dr. Khalid Mohammed Al Hinai, Vice Chancellor’s Advisor
for Environment Affairs. The graduation projects and other innovative
ideas and work experience of the Educational Technology students were
exhibited for SQU community and students and teachers from the local
schools to see and acquaint with.
The students had developed several applications for smart mobile
phones and other modern gadgets and computers. Some projects are
meant for schools in the Sultanate. Training on hardware maintenance
and practical trouble shooting session, etc., were some of the highlights
of the event. The workshops were led by students from the Educational
Technology Group and technicians from the Department of Educational
Technology. A station was earmarked for Omani society for Educational
Technology (OSET), which promotes research and field studies on the
influence of educational technology on education in Oman.
SQU Receives Jordanian
Senate Members
A delegation from the Jordanian Senate of the Hashemite Kingdom of
Jordan, headed by H.E. Ibrahim Alghabbsheh, visited Sultan Qaboos
University recently. The delegation was received by H.E. Dr. Ali bin
Saud Al Bimani, the Vice Chancellor of SQU, and H.H. Sayyidah Dr.
Mona bint Fahad Al Said, Assistant Vice Chancellor for International
Cooperation.
The two sides reviewed the existing partnerships between SQU and Jordanian higher educational institutions and the ways to boost the ties.
The academic and research ties between the Omani Studies Centre at
Sultan Qaboos university and the Omani Studies Unit at Al Albayt University in Jordan was also reviewed.
Experts Meet to Discuss
Sustainable Tourism
As many as 95 researchers from 23 countries, presented 100 papers at the 7th International Tourism Conference, organized by
Sultan Qaboos University and the School of Tourism and Maritime Technology, at the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, Portugal. The opening ceremony of this prestigious 3-day event was
held under the patronage of H.E. Maitha bint Seif Al Mahrouqi,
Undersecretary of the Ministry of Tourism. This event was the
result of continuous and productive collaboration between the
Department of Tourism, and the School of Tourism and Maritime Technology, at the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, Portugal.
Speaking on behalf of the Steering Committee of the event, Dr.
Galal Afifi, Head of the Department of Tourism of the College
of Arts & Social Sciences at SQU, said that tourism is received
as one of the most promising sectors in the Sultanate of Oman,
as it is believed to help facilitate economic diversification, preserve cultural integrity and protect the environment of Oman.
“This belief draws a noteworthy attention to this sector, which
has resulted in a significant progress in the Omani tourism
sector in recent years. This has also reflected positively on the
tourism department at SQU, which has been the first Tourism
Department in the Middle East to be accredited from the UNWTO. Such Achievement would not have taken place without
the sincere work of the university and the College of Arts and
Social Sciences towards academic excellence. The Department
is honored as well to be the first to host the International Tourism Congress outside the European Union”, he said. Dr. Paulo
Almeida, Dean, School of Tourism & Maritime Technology at
the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, Portugal hoped that this
conference would address a wide range of issues related to
tourism and would pave way for long term partnership between SQU and his own institution.
Prof. Jafar Jafari, University of Wisconsin-Stout, USA, gave the
first keynote address on the topic “A nice place to live is a nice
place to visit: tourism and community development” in which
he spoke about the importance of scientification, research,
education and trained workforce to fuel community based
tourism. “Natural, sociocultural and local resources should be
blended in such a way to reflect the host community will cherish sustainable tourism. The concept of tourism is not valid if it
does nothing to improve the quality of life of the local people”,
he said. Prof. Jafari also stressed on the importance of proper
education and training in hospitality and tourism industry.
Prof. Eduardo Fayos-Solà, President of the Ulysses Foundation,
Spain, gave the second keynote address on “The future of tourism destinations: progress and development on a less travelled
road”. Prof. Maged Negm, Vice-president, Helwan University,
Egypt, gave the third keynote address on “Heritage tourism: a
new approach”. The fourth keynote speaker, Prof. João Paulo
Jorge from the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, Portugal, spoke
about “Coastal tourism: trends, threats and opportunities”.
P3 10 December 2014
Insight
Oman Sees Sharp
Decline in Fertility Rate
By: Dr. M. Mazharul Islam
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
College of Science
Sultan Qaboos University
In late 2011, researchers of the American Enterprise Institute,
published a report on the declining fertility rates (average number
of births per woman) in the Muslim world, describing the phenomena as “a veritable sea-change, still curiously unnoticed”. The
report (Fertility Decline in the Muslim World”. Policy review, No.
173) is interesting because it demonstrates the idea that the world’s
Muslim population is undergoing a fertility collapse which is not
in line with the existing popular perception about Muslim world.
Using data from 49 Muslim-majority countries and territories, the
researchers Nicholas Eberstadt and Apoorva Shah, found that fertility rates declined an average of 41 percent between 1975-80 and
2005-10, which is a greater drop than the 33 percent decline for the
world as a whole over that same period.
The authors also estimated that 22 Muslim countries have undergone fertility declines of 50% or more, ten of them by 60% or more.
For example, an astonishing 70% fertility decline occurred in Iran
and 64% in Oman. In absolute term, half of these “top ten” fertility
declining countries had experienced a decline of over 4.5 births per
woman in just 20 years which is unprecedented in the human history. Oman tops the list of these top five countries with more than
five births decline per woman within just 20 years period. Thus
Oman is a “world record-breaker” in the recent history of fertility
decline. The dramatic change in reproductive behaviour in Oman
from the regime of almost ‘natural fertility’ to the ‘controlled fertility’ within a short period of two decades may be termed as ‘fertility revolution’.
The traditional demographic transition theory says (though with
a lack of uniformity) that the cause of fertility decline is socioeconomic development and the resulting social modernization which
includes urbanization, industrialization, social mobility, changes
in women’s status, women education and employment, reduction in infant and child mortality, and better living standards. In
Oman, fertility has decline from 8.6 births per woman in 1988 to
10 December 2014 P4
3.3 births per woman in 2008, a spectacular decline of 5.3
births per woman in just 20 years. This is quite stunning
for a country like Oman which was believed to have the
third-highest fertility rate in the World with more than 8
children per woman, after Rwanda and Yemen at the top,
during early 1980s. The country was under poverty and isolation until oil and gas production began in the early 1970s,
long after other countries in the Gulf region had begun to
modernize aided by oil export revenue.
By the late 1980s, Oman was transformed into a modern
state, with all the modern facilities and infrastructures under the dynamic leadership of the present ruler His Majesty
Sultan Qaboos Bin Said. The standard of living and health
status have improved enormously since the mid-1970s.
Oman has well-organized universal free health care system
assuring universal access to health care services. The country has made impressive gains in the achievement of key
millennium development goals. The infant mortality rate
(IMR) has dropped from 118 per 1000 live birth in 1970 to
9.8 per 1000 live birth in 2013, a decline of 92%. The less
than five mortality rate (U5MR) also declined from 181 per
1000 live births in 1970 to 11.8 per 1000 live birth in 2013,
which is close to the European average. Average life expectancy has increased from 49.3 years in 1970 to 76.6 years
in 2013. Female education, autonomy and participation
in work force has also increased significantly. Traditional
marriage pattern are changing and age at marriage are
increasing for both males and females. For example, the
singulate mean age at marriage for females has increased
from 19 years in 1988 to 26.8 years in 2008. Oman has been
experiencing a rapid urbanization process. The percentage
of urban dwellers increased from 47.6% percent in 1980 to
72% in 2013. Urbanization is profoundly changing the spatial distribution of the population. All these developments
in Oman indicate that the onset of demographic transition
has occurred in the country following the traditional path
of demographic transition.
It is interesting to note that such a ‘sea-change’ in the total
fertility rate (TFR) has occurred in Oman with a low contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR). According to the 2008 National Reproductive Health Survey in Oman, about 24 %
of the currently married women are using any family planning methods. Moreover, it has occurred in the absence of
any official population control program with a quantitative
target of limiting fertility as adopted by other high fertility countries in Asia and Africa. The critical determinant of
actual fertility levels in Oman seems to be attitudinal and
volitional, rather than material and mechanistic. Desire for
large family size is gradually declining in Oman.
Due to its small population size in the past, government of
Oman was not concerned about Omani population growth
until 1990s. However, the high population growth and large
family size as observed in the first population and housing census of 1993 prompted the government to take some
measures to slow down the population growth. One such
important policy measure was the introduction of ‘birth
spacing program’ in 1994 in order to improve the maternal
and child health and reduce family size. The sharp fertility
decline in Oman since 1994 may be attributed to the effect
of the effective birth spacing policy in Oman.
The ongoing demographic transition in Oman leads to
many changes in the size and age structure of the growing
population of the country, and thus giving rise to windows
of economic and social opportunities as well as policy challenges. This demographic dividend needs to be managed
efficiently in order to be transformed into a better and sustainable economic growth. Understanding demographic
challenges must therefore be a priority for the government
of Oman, and formulate policies to harvest the benefits of
the demographic windows.
Mind Over Matter
Beat and Reverse
Your Pre-Diabetes
By: Dr. Melba Sheila D’Souza, & Mrs. Anandhi Amirtharaj
Department of Adult Health & Critical Care
College of Nursing
whole grains and switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%)
milk. Foods to reduce: Compare sodium in foods like
soup, bread, and frozen meals—and choose foods with
lower numbers. Drink water instead of sugary drinks.
Being active: Breaking activity into three 10 minute
sessions throughout the day is as good as one 30 minute session. Do activities that get your body moving
and help you stay healthy, cardio exercises raise your
heart rate and resistance Training activities help you
build muscle and strength. Making physical activity
part of your daily lifestyle burns calories even if it’s
not part of a structured plan. Take small steps to add
more movement into your daily lifestyle. Check your
glucose before and after physical activity to learn how
your body responds.
Monitoring: Checking your blood sugar is an important part of diabetes self-care. Monitoring your
overall health includes: long-term blood sugar control—HbA1C, Estimated Average Glucose (eAG); cardiovascular health—blood pressure, weight, cholesterol levels; kidney health—urine and blood testing;
eye health—dilated eye exams; and foot health—foot
exams and sensory testing. The ADA recommends
an A1C target below 7% (an eAG of 154 mg/dl); the
American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists recommends less than 6.5% (an eAG of 140 mg/dl).
Taking medications: Your medications come with
specific instructions for use—and they can affect your
body differently depending on when and how you take
them. It may take a while to figure out which medicines
work best with your body. So it’s important for you to
pay attention to how you feel and how your body reacts to each new medicine or treatment.
Diabetes mellitus is a growing problem and the costs to the
public are escalating. Oman has 199.78/1000 cases of diabetes mellitus (DM) aged 20-79 years, while the number of undiagnosed cases is 81.31/1000. The national and comparative
prevalence of DM is 8.01% vs 14.24% in Oman (International
Diabetes Federation [IDF] Diabetes atlas 2013). Studies show
that the risk for type 2 diabetes (T2D) can be reduced by 58%
by losing 7% of your body weight (or 15 pounds if weight is
200 pounds) and exercising moderately (such as brisk walking) 30 minutes a day, five days a week (American Diabetes
Association (ADA), IDF, European Association for the Study
of Diabetes, 2011).
People with Impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and/or Impaired
glucose tolerance (IGT) have pre-diabetes which indicates
the relatively high risk for the future development of T2D.
They are associated with obesity (especially abdominal or
visceral obesity), dyslipidemia with high triglycerides and/
or low HDL cholesterol, and hypertension (ADA, 2010). IGT
is recorded as 180.97/1000 cases among 20-79 years in Oman
(IDF 2013). Life style management and Self-Care Behaviors
for the prevention of diabetes for individuals is necessary to
achieve effective self-care management and behavior change
(American Association of Diabetes Educators [AADE], 2013).
Healthy eating: Eat breakfast every day which helps begin
the calorie-burning process that provides you with energy. Include small snacks between meals as part of your daily intake
to help keep your body going. Space your meals throughout
the day. Going too long without eating may result in excessive hunger, which can lead to overeating later on. Try to eat
every 4 to 5 hours during waking hours. A healthy meal will
include carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Choose my healthy
plate by balancing calories: Enjoy your food, but eat less and
avoid oversized portions. Foods to increase: Make half your
plate fruits and vegetables, make at least half your grains
Problem solving: Do not go more than 5 hours without eating during your waking hours. Learn how it interacts with your medications and how it affects your
blood sugar. Some of the most important problemsolving skills for diabetes self-care are learning how
to recognize and react to high and low blood sugar
levels and learning how to manage on days when you
are sick. The important thing is to learn from each situation—what caused your blood sugar to go above or
below target, and what you can do to improve your
diabetes self-care.
Reducing risks: Don’t smoke, schedule regular medical checkups and medical tests, see an eye doctor at
least once a year, keep your feet dry and clean, look out
for redness or sores, and report these to your healthcare team as soon as you find them. Be sensitive to your
body—recognize when you aren’t feeling well, and
contact your care team if you need help identifying the
problem. Lowering your cholesterol can decrease your
risk for stroke, heart attack or other circulation problems.
Healthy coping: Take steps to reduce the negative
impact they could have on your self-care. There are
healthy coping methods that you can use to get you
through tough times (faith-based activities, exercise, meditation, enjoyable hobbies, joining a support
group). Having a support network is key to healthy
coping. Be sure to develop and nurture partnerships
in your personal life with your spouse, loved ones and
friends. Go to group educational sessions where you
can meet and relate to other people going through the
same experiences. Build healthy relationships. Physical
activity can influence your mood. Go for a walk, stand
up and stretch, or take a bicycle ride. Exercise actually
increases the chemicals in your brain that help make
you feel good!
P5 10 December 2014