With the objective of activating the leading role of Alnoor Specialist Hospital in Makkah in serving the society, and with the cooperation of the Department of Clinical Nutrition at Umm Al-Qura University's College of Applied Sciences, the hospital’s Department of Nutrition and Special Diets organized an educational program for the students of Al-Elm Al-Nafe School in Makkah. The event was held on Safar 5, 1439H, corresponding to October 25, 2017, under the auspices of Ms. Nesreen bin Essam Al-Baz, the Head of the Department of Nutrition and Special Diets and the Nutritionist at the Hospital. The program was under the theme of “appropriate nutrition for a better life”.

Dr. Hassan bin Mazhar Bukhari and Dr. Al-Sayed Hamed Ali Bakr,  the Assistant Professors at the Department of Clinical Nutrition, talked in the program, with the help of Mr. Mohamed Shalabi, the Nutritionist at Al Noor Hospital concerning the scientific part. The event was under the auspices of Dr. Ahmad Muhammad Ahmad Ashie, the Dean of the College of Applied Sciences, and Dr. Haifaa Hussain Ali Hejazi, the Head of the Department of Clinical Nutrition.

The students were introduced to the food groups, their benefits for the body, and the recommended portions form each group, with an application part that included distributing different foods to the groups that each kind belongs to. The event also defined the healthy plate, how to prepare it and its different ingredients. Moreover, it included general advices for choosing the healthy meal and the convenient nutrition program for them, with a  practical part through a 24-hour redemption form to evaluate whether the students get their need of healthy food, and to determine the kind of food being eaten and its quantity, and to what extent it fits their needs. A training activity was also made for the students to assess their nutritional status through height and weight measurements. An explanation was also given to the student to know how to calculate the body mass index (BMI) and compare it to the standard tables according to age, to know the mechanism for evaluating their health and  nutritional status to avoid gaining weight and obesity.

 For the success of the program, Mr. Emad Holdar, the Director of the School, Mr. Ashour Hafez, and a number of teachers attended the event and interacted with the students, which had a positive impact on the success of the program.