Obesity crisis prompts UAE fat centre growth

VLCC, one of the leading scientific weight management companies in the Middle East has announced a new strategic expansion plan throughout the region worth AED100m last week. The company also said it is to open a new scientific weight management and skin and hair services centre in Abu Dhabi on March 12 this year.

"The incidence of obesity in the UAE is amongst the highest in the world. Some studies estimate it to be close to 70%. There is an alarmingly high level of obesity among both the local and expatriate populations and the reason can be attributed to lifestyle and diet," Mukesh Luthra, chairman and managing director at VLCC told Arabian Business.

VLCC, which has found itself a niche in the UAE ‘wellness' domain with two centres in Dubai and one in Sharjah, will offer a slimming, beauty and skin services. VLCC is perhaps best known for its ground-breaking work in the field of scientific slimming that does not involve crash diets or any form of artificial food supplements.

"After covering the whole of UAE, we are planning to open in other parts of GCC as well such as Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait," said Luthra.

The launch of VLCC in Abu Dhabi is part of the company's regional expansion strategy, aimed at meeting customer demand and providing a totally new weight management and health and beauty experience in the UAE. VLCC plans to have 28 centres across the Middle East by 2009.