Lara Hanna-Wakim
Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, Lebanon
Biography:
Prof. Lara Hanna-Wakim is Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, (Lebanon) since 2013. She is the first scientist to represent the MENA Region as a regular member of the Governing Council of the International Union of Food Science and Technology – IUFoST since 2014.
She is the Focal Point for Lebanon of the Arab States Green University Network at UNEP and the National Food Safety Expert at UNIDO. She served as Vice-President of GCHERA 2015 Conference.
She is member of the Lebanese Association of Food Scientists and Technologists (LAoFST). She has been honored as Women Leader in Lebanese universities and research pioneers, at the Lebanese Parliament, by the National Initiative for the Centennial of Greater Lebanon, “Lebanon the State of Knowledge”.
Prof. Lara Hanna-Wakim holds an Agricultural Engineering Diploma from USEK (Lebanon), an MS in Food Science from the INAP-G (France), and a PhD in Food Process Engineering from AgroParis Tech (France).
She holds as well an MA/PG Diploma in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education from University of Chester (UK) and an MS in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education from University of Norwich (USA).
Abstract:
Statement of the problem: The world is facing serious health problems concerning dietary and physical activity patterns as well as chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, dyslipidemia, cancers and others. NCDs account for 70% of the global burden of disease and 60% of global mortality. Studies have shown that the three leading factors of global burden are high blood pressure, obesity, smoking and high alcohol consumption. The purpose of this analysis is to assess the health conditions and evaluate the nutritional status and eating behavior, of Lebanese population, in order to build national guidelines aiming to improve the health of the concerned category through intervention programs. Methodology and Theoretical orientation: A cross sectional study will be conducted including Lebanese individuals sampled from all Lebanese districts, covering all socio-economic levels, aging between 19 and 65 years old. Data is collected through validated questionnaires, in addition to clinical evaluation, physical evaluation and biochemical tests. Statistical analysis will be carried out and multivariate models will be used in order to evaluate the association between several independent variables and the health status as well as the nutritional status of Lebanese population. Findings: The results are expected to show that overweight and obesity, is highly prevalent among Lebanese population, with a higher percentage for men than women. Frequency of smoking and alcohol consumption is expected to be high with a greater percentage of males reporting those results. The Lebanese adults are expected to be highly sedentary, due to the fast lifestyle, which will be associated to chronic diseases, and obesity. The Lebanese population is probable to show a poor to moderate nutritional status because of unhealthy and modernized eating behavior. Conclusions: The health and nutritional status of the Lebanese population is to be improved through public health prevention policies and programs.