Ahmad Alkhatib

• PhD, MSc, BSc, FHEA, RNutr, CISSN, FRSPH FRSM
• Professor at Birmingham City University

Objectives: Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) are experiencing a fast-paced epidemiological rise in clusters of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, forming an imminent rise in multimorbidity (MMD). However, preventing MMD has received little attention in LMICs, especially in Sub-Saharan African Countr...

(1) Background: Maximal fat oxidation (MFO), its associated exercise intensity (Fatmax) and the cross-over point (COP) are known indirect calorimetry-based diagnostics for whole-body metabolic health and exercise. However, large inter- and intra-individual variability in determining their corresponding intensity makes their use inconsistent, whethe...

The prevalence of childhood obesity and its associated comorbidities is a growing global health problem that disproportionately affects populations in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and minority ethnicities in high-income countries (HICs). The increased childhood obesity disparities among populations reflect two concerns: one is HICs’ ine...

Background Preventing childhood obesity and associated comorbidities is often hampered by disproportionate disparity in healthcare provision in minority ethnic populations. This study contextualized factors influencing childhood obesity and related comorbidity from the perspectives and experiences of parents of ethnic minority populations. Methods...

Yerba Maté (YM), has become a popular herb ingested for enhancing metabolic health and weight-loss outcomes. No studies have tested the combined metabolic, satiety, and psychomotor effects of YM during exercise. We tested whether YM ingestion affects fatty acid oxidation (FAO), profile of mood state score (POMS), and subjective appetite scale (VAS)...

Background: Antioxidants and prebiotics are popular functional foods known for their distinct physiological ameliorating benefits on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Whether and how a combined antioxidant-prebiotic supplement affects primary and secondary T2DM outcomes is not known. Objectives: We investigated the therapeutic effects of an antio...

Summary Background: Overweight and obesity is a global epidemic. Forecasting future trajectories of the epidemic is crucial for providing an evidence base for policy change. In this study, we examine the historical trends of the global, regional, and national prevalence of adult overweight and obesity from 1990 to 2021 and forecast the future traje...

Background Despite the well documented consequences of obesity during childhood and adolescence and future risks of excess body mass on non-communicable diseases in adulthood, coordinated global action on excess body mass in early life is still insufficient. Inconsistent measurement and reporting are a barrier to specific targets, resource allocati...

Background Overweight and obesity is a global epidemic. Forecasting future trajectories of the epidemic is crucial for providing an evidence base for policy change. In this study, we examine the historical trends of the global, regional, and national prevalence of adult overweight and obesity from 1990 to 2021 and forecast the future trajectories t...

Preventing childhood obesity and associated comorbidities is often hampered by disproportionate disparity in healthcare provision in minority ethnic populations. This study contextualised lifestyle factors influencing childhood obesity and related comorbidity from the perspectives and experiences of parents of ethnic minority children with obesity...

Constipation is correlated with diminished cognitive function, revealing a possible rectum-brain connection. In this counter-balanced crossover trial, 13 elite triathletes underwent a Stroop test to assess cognitive function and executive control. The Stroop test was conducted both with and without magnesium oxide intake, with a 1-week washout peri...

Lifestyle physical activity (PA) and nutrition are known to be effective interventions in preventing and managing obesity-related comorbidities among adult populations but less so among children and adolescents. We examined the effectiveness of lifestyle interventions in children from minority ethnic populations in Western high-income countries (HI...

Lifestyle physical activity (PA) and nutrition are known to be effective interventions in preventing and managing obesity related comorbidities is adult populations, but less so in children and adolescents. We examined the effectiveness of lifestyle interventions in children from minority ethnic populations in western high-income countries. Our sys...

Definition Multiple long-term conditions such as the simultaneous prevalence of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease are becoming increasingly prevalent globally with major consequences of morbidity, mortality and health economy. Lifestyle preventative approaches, especially combining nutrition and physical activity behavioral components, a...

Cognitive performance was measured under non-defecated, non-magnesium defecated, and magnesium defecated conditions among thirteen elite triathletes in a counter-balanced order. Real-time hemodynamic changes in the prefrontal brain and sub-navel regions proximal to rectum were also measured using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), where both detect...

Background Non-communicable diseases among children are serious consequences of childhood obesity. However, less is known about the disparities in childhood obesity comorbidities burden. This review describes the salient pattern of disparities in the prevalence of childhood obesity-related non-communicable diseases and relevant inequalities in both...

Objectives: Low and Middle-Income Countries are experiencing a fast-paced epidemiological rise in clusters of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, forming an imminent rise in multimorbidity. However, preventing multimorbidity has received little attention in LMICs, especially in Sub-Saharan African Countries. Met...

Physical activity decreases the risk of long-term health consequences including cardiac diseases. According to the American Health Association (AHA), adults should perform at least 75 min of vigorous physical activity (PA) or 150 min of moderate PA per week to impact long-term health. Results of previous studies are varied and have yet to integrate...

SARS-CoV-2 has been associated with an increased rate of venous thromboembolism in critically ill patients.Since surgical patients are already at higher risk of venous thromboembolism than general populations, thisstudy aimed to determine if patients with peri-operative or prior SARS-CoV-2 were at further increased risk ofvenous thromboembolism. We...

Background: Stem cell aging, characterized by elevated p16INK4a expression, decreases cell repopulating and self-renewal abilities, which results in elevated inflammation and slow recovery against stress. Methods: Biopsied muscles were analyzed at baseline and 24 h after squat exercise in 12 trained men (22 ± 2 y). Placebo (PLA) and immunostimul...

Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is causing global mortality and lockdown burdens. A compromised immune system is a known risk factor for all viral influenza infections. Functional foods optimize the immune system capacity to prevent and control pathogenic viral infections, while physical activity augments such protective benefits. Exercise enhances in...

The alarming increase in global diabetes, especially Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), is affecting diverse populations and leading to consequent burdens of morbidities, mortalities, and healthcare costs. Physical activity and nutritional approaches form the cornerstones of lifestyle T2DM prevention. Advances in understanding an individual's behavio...

The study tested whether anserine (beta-alanyl-3-methyl-l-histidine), the active ingredient of chicken essence affects exercise-induced oxidative stress, cell integrity, and haematology biomarkers. In a randomized placebo-controlled repeated-measures design, ten healthy men ingested anserine in either a low dose (ANS-LD) 15 mg.kg−1.bw−1, high dose...

Naturally occurring tumor in animals receiving high minerals from deep oceans (DOM: hardness 600 mg/L) from 6 months of age until natural death was firstly assessed in 200 Sprague Dawley rats, randomized into four groups: Control (C), DOM (D), Fructose (F), and Fructose + DOM (FD). Fructose drink contained 11% fructose. Tumor incidence (necropsy at...

Purpose To determine whether weight training combined with high protein intake enhances total and regional bone mineral density (BMD) in athletes. Methods BMD of 27 Division-1 collegiate baseball players aged 18-22 y (N=13, 2 dropouts) received either 14% protein or isocaloric 44% protein supplements and were assessed by dual-energy x-ray absorpti...

Purpose: We investigated whether obesity adversities of excessive body fat, compensatory hyperinsulinemia, metabolic endotoxemia, irregular androgenicity, reduced cardiorespiratory and anaerobic fitness are ameliorated by high-intensity interval training (HIIT) with or without caffeine supplementation in women with obesity. Methods: Twenty-four...

Background: Diabetes is prevalent in Kuwait. We aimed to assess the level of glycemic control in Kuwaiti adults with diabetes. Methods: The World Health Organization's STEPS non-communicable disease risk factor survey was conducted in Kuwait in 2014. Participants' demographics, medical history, physical measurements and blood biochemistry were a...

It remains unclear which factors are instrumental in meeting the recommended physical activity in people with diabetes. We, therefore, aimed to determine the sociodemographic, health-related behavior and clinical factors associated with meeting the recommended levels of physical activity in Scottish adults with diabetes. The study was based on the...

The association between poor nutrition and health risks is known. However, data are lacking in high-prevalence regions such as in Middle East. This study describes associations of fruits and vegetable intake with indicators of diabetes and associated risk factors in the Kuwaiti population. A national cross-sectional survey analysis involved 3915 Ku...

The association between low physical activity (PA) and diabetes risk is established worldwide, but data are lacking in high-prevalence regions such as in Middle East. This study describes associations of PA with indicators of diabetes and associated risk factors in the Kuwaiti population. Analysis of the national cross-sectional survey involved 391...

Background: Kuwait ranks among the top 20 countries worldwide in diabetes prevalence. This study's objectives were to assess the prevalence of pre-diabetes and diabetes in Kuwaiti adults. Methods Kuwaiti citizens aged 18-69 years (n=3,915) were studied using the WHÓs STEPwise survey methodology, including its Instrument for Chronic Disease Risk Fa...

250 words) Herbal ingestions are common amongst many cultures for centuries, and have been used to enhance both health and sports performance outcomes. Numerous medicinal plants and natural herbs have been recently reviewed for their physiological mechanisms responsible for preventing chronic diseases including diabetes and cardiovascular disease....

Lifestyle is the primary prevention of diabetes, especially type-2 diabetes (T2D). Nutritional intake of olive oil (OO), the key Mediterranean diet component has been associated with the prevention and management of many chronic diseases including T2D. Several OO bioactive compounds such as monounsaturated fatty acids, and key biophenols including...

Lifestyle is the primary prevention of diabetes, especially type-2 diabetes (T2D). Nutritional intake of olive oil (OO), the key Mediterranean diet component has been associated with the prevention and management of many chronic diseases including T2D. Several OO bioactive compounds such as monounsaturated fatty acids, and key polyphenols including...

Functional foods contain biologically active ingredients associated with physiological health benefits for preventing and managing chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). A regular consumption of functional foods may be associated with enhanced anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, insulin sensitivity, and anti-cholesterol functions,...

High prevalence of diabetes and cardiovascular disease makes it vital to devise effective workplace prevention programs across different settings that reach large number of individuals. Most employees who spend significant amount of their weekly hours at their workplace would significantly benefit from a variety healthy interventions resulting in f...

BACKGROUND: Kuwait has one of the highest rates of obesity and type-2 diabetes worldwide. This may be explained by lifestyle Factors such as sedentary lifestyle and poor nutritional habits. Given the lack of data on the prevalence of such determinants, we preliminarily analyzed recent population-based survey in Kuwait. METHODS: A national survey...

Non-communicable diseases (NCD) such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus account for the main burden of disease and mortality in the adult population of Kuwait. However, no prospective information of NCD determinants in Kuwaiti adults is currently available. The NCD Yarmouk Project in Kuwait aims to refine the research methodology and...

Sport and physical activity prescription guidelines continue to evolve, which helps responding to a global epidemic of obesity, diabetes and several other lifestyle diseases, and addressing sports performance needs. Individualized exercise prescription should consider human physiological and behavioral adaptations and long term adherence. The inten...

Keynote speech highlighting the evidence about the benefits and hazards of prescribing high intensity training for individuals with type-2 diabetes.

Gait patterns have been widely studied in different fields of science for their particular characteristics. A dynamic approach of human locomotion considers walking and running as two stable behaviors adopted spontaneously under certain levels and natures of constraints. When no constraints are imposed, people naturally prefer to walk at the typica...

The health risks associated with sedentary lifestyle and lack of physical activity have become the main concern for health professionals, clinicians and scientists in the 21st century. This book presents the readers with a comprehensive examination of the most recent scientific evidence explaining the deteriorating health consequences of sedentary...

Sedentary lifestyle and physical inactivity are causes of major health risks including cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes and cancer. Workplace is an ideal setting to understand both the prevalence of these risks and for devising and implementing effective intervention strategies. It is now possible to perform direct workplace assessments to id...

Increasing proportions of the global population are being diagnosed with diabetes. It is anticipated that by 2030, 10% of the adult population worldwide will be living with this condition. Lifestyle factors can impact on the development, management and progression of diabetes. Obesity and sedentary living are contributory factors to the increased v...

Dermal-based vascular measurements have become popular non-invasive techniques to detect and track low-frequency perfusion changes in microcirculation. For example, photoplethysmography (PPG) and laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) are now well recognized optical techniques that have been used in human studies to track endothelial vascular activity in he...

Metabolic exercise assessment: Methodological recommendations for clinicians, health and exercise professionals S toichiometric indirect calorimetry is the most commonly used method for assessing the oxidation of fatty acids (FAO) and carbohydrates (CHO). It relies on gaseous exchange measurements of oxygen uptake (VO 2), carbon dioxide production...

Sedentary lifestyle and physical inactivity are causes of major health risks including cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes and cancer. Workplace is an ideal setting to understand both the prevalence of these risks and for devising and implementing effective intervention strategies. It is now possible to perform direct workplace assessments to id...

Objectives To examine the participant experiences regarding perceived barriers and facilitators which impact on consuming the Mediterranean diet in the East of England. DesignQualitative methodology with focus groups. SettingA healthy, middle-aged population situated in the East of England. Intervention: An 8-week Mediterranean dietary intervention...

Background: Achieving fat-loss outcomes by ingesting multi-ingredient mixtures may be further enhanced during exercise. This study tested the acute thermogenic effectiveness of a commercially available multi-ingredient product (Shred-Matrix®), containing Green Tea Extract, Yerba Maté, Guarana Seed Extract, Anhydrous caffeine, Saw palmetto, Fo-Ti,...

Natural herbs have been in use for weight loss purposes since the history began. However, the current global obesity epidemic and the rise in obesity-related chronic diseases, including type-II diabetes and cancer, have highlighted the need for novel and effective approaches for herbal remedies. Whilst the popularity of several prescribed and non-p...

Background: Sedentariness and physical inactivity are often reported within white-collar workers, including university campus employees. However, the prevalence of the associated sedentary risk factors and risk reduction intervention strategies within a university campus workplace are less known. Objective: This study investigates whether the pr...

Objective To examine the participant experiences regarding perceived barriers and facilitators which impact on consuming the Mediterranean diet in the East of England. Design Qualitative methodology with focus groups. Setting A healthy, middle-aged population situated in the East of England. Intervention An 8-week Mediterranean dietary intervention...

Rapid development in Qatar in recent years has led to numerous changes, particularly the increased prevalence of lifestyle related health risks, with almost 50% obesity rates amongst Qataris of all ages. We investigated the effects of a 10-week exercise training program aimed at young Qatari adults, on a number of Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk...

Cycling cadence (RPM)-related differences in blood lactate concentration (BLC) increase with increasing exercise intensity, whilst corresponding divergences in oxygen uptake ([Formula: see text]O2) and carbon dioxide production ([Formula: see text]CO2) decrease. Aim of the present study was to test whether a higher RPM reduces the fraction (%) of t...

Rising obesity levels and physical inactivity are major concerns in the 21st century due to the their association with several health risks including diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. Engaging sedentary and obese population in a variety of exercise and physical activity patterns is a well-established approach, but it is often hindered by...

The global rise in obesity and cardiovascular disease is not showing any sign of slowing down, and effective health interventions may provide an important part of the solution. Whilst comprehensive evidence about the health benefits of the Mediterranean Diet (MD) continues to emerge for obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, the combined MD...

Alkhatib, J Health Edu Res Dev 2015, 3:1 http://dx. Editorial The World Health Organisation (WHO) has adopted a global strategy on physical activity and health since 2005, with an aim to reduce and reverse the constant rise in these health risks globally. However, most recent statistics about mortality rates caused by cardiovascular disease (CVD) a...

R apid development in Qatar in the recent years has led to numerous changes, particularly the increased prevalence of lifestyle related health risks, with almost 50% obesity rates amongst Qataris of all ages. We investigated the effects of a ten-week exercise training program aimed at young Qatari male adults, on a number of cardiovascular risk fac...

R amadan is a period of complete abstinence from solid nutrients and liquids from sunset to sunset for a period of one month. While Ramadan is thought to have only minor effects on the general population, this kind of intermittent fasting may lead to severe effects in athletes' psycho-physical functioning, such as coping with stress or maintaining...

Notes: Exercise prevention of health risks: Lessons from the sport science field and potential applications in Qatar R ising obesity levels and physical inactivity are major concerns in the 21st century due to their association with several health risks including diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. Engaging sedentary and obese population i...

Yerba Maté (YM), the plant of (Illex Paraguariensis) is widely ingested for its potential health benefits including anti-atherogenic and weight loss properties (1). We have previously shown an exercise intensity-dependent effect of acute YM ingestion on fatty acid oxidation (FAO), particularly at low and moderate exercise intensity domains, determi...

Background It has been suggested that carbohydrate-protein based multi-ingredient supplements may attenuate exercise induced muscle damage (EIMD) and immunosuppression. This study investigates the effects of a commercially available carbohydrate-protein supplement (MTN) enriched with L-glutamine, L-carnitine-L-tartrate compared to carbohydrate alon...

Supplementing dietary inorganic nitrate (NO3-) has been shown to increase resting NO3- and endothelial vasodialation. Consequently recent studies in variety of prolonged endurance exercise performances have shown its acute ergogenic effectiveness in reducing muscle fatigue and improving force generation mechanisms. However, little is known whether...

Adequate nutritional intake is important to optimise performance, but can be affected by nutritional barriers within variety of amateur and trained athletes including rugby union players. However, little is known about the differences in these nutritional barriers between young college amateur (YA) and semi-professional (SP) rugby union players, an...

Background Ingesting Yerba Mate (YM) has become widely popular for health promotion, obesity prevention and body weight reduction, primarily due its thermogenic effectiveness. However, the YM effects on fat metabolism during exercise, when fat metabolism is already increased several fold, are unknown. The present study investigated whether acute YM...

Introduction: The cardio-protective benefits of exercise and healthy diets, especially Mediterranean Diet (MD) are well established. Combining MD with exercise training has been recently shown to reverse cardio-metabolic risk in ageing adults. This study tested whether the exercise and MD improvement in cardiorespiratory capacity are sustained afte...

This study tested the potential risk-reduction benefits of Mediterranean Diet (MD) and regular exercise training on microvascular activity and cardiorespiratory capacity in postmenopausal women. Fifteen sedentary postmenopausal participants (age = 54.6 ± 3.6) were randomised into either exercise training or exercise combined with following MD for e...

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate whether sedentary job role and gender are reflected by sedentary risk factors within a university campus. Methods: Following institutional ethical approval, 80 U.K. university campus employees were recruited, and 34 of them (age 47.8 ± 11.9 years, height 169 ± 1.0 cm, body mass 72.0 ± 14.1 kg)...

Reduction in post-menopausal related vascular dysfunction through exercise and Mediterranean diet - Volume 72 Issue OCE4 - A. Alkhatib, M. Klonizakis