# Dietitian/Nutrition jobs in Cairo?



## mr_hip05

My wife was just offered a teaching job at the Canadian International School of Egypt. If she accepts the offer, we will be leaving Canada mid-August.

I myself am a dietitian and was hoping to be able find relevant work prior to arriving in Cairo. Does anyone have any suggestions for finding potential employers? The school arranges for housing in Maadi, so I expect we would be living there...

I was also curious what the market might be within the expat community for the services of a dietitian if I were to start a private practice? What problems might I encounter if I choose to do this?

Finally, if I'm not able to find paid employment, I'd still like to volunteer doing something nutrition-related. If anyone has any ideas here that would also be most helpful.


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## MaidenScotland

Hi and welcome to the forum. 

I have never opened a business here so don't really have the information for you but I do know it's not the easiest thing to do plus do you really want to start a business in this political climate?

Personally I find expat businesses charge far too much.. Why would I pay London prices for a massage when the over heads here are much less.. the Chinese give a good foot massage for about 150 pounds, but that is just my opinion although you have to take into account that there are not the same amount of expats around as before the revolution, prices are sky rocketing so our money is not going as far as it used to and I am sure I am not the only expat who is cutting back.

I actually know an expat doctor who cannot find work here and she has been looking for one year. 


I volunteer in two NGOs and it is good to give back but knowing what I know about 'poor' Egyptians I cannot see them being able to follow diets as quite simply they do not have the funds.. although they do eat a lot of salads, pulses, fruit, frozen ready meals are not existent in their world but sugar is their great love and you will never wean them off it. 


Maiden


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## mr_hip05

Thanks for your reply. We've travelled quite extensively, but never visited Egypt, so it is quite valuable hearing from someone living there now...

My intent for the private practice was a little less formal than your reply indicated. I was more envisioning meeting with expat clients in our home for consultations and/or maybe some type of group classes (topics like weight loss, sports nutrition or nutrition in pregnancy). Pay cash/"under the table" type of thing....Could this sort of thing be done easily/safely without formally setting up a business with the government? ... Are there many of these types of nutrition services provided by Egyptian practitioners?

As for the volunteering, weaning Egyptians off of sugar is probably not much different than doing so for Canadians!... But there are potentially other areas I was thinking where someone with a background in nutrition might be valuable like, international development (child/maternal health), hospitals or Universities. If anyone has any insight in this type of opportunity, it would be much appreciated.

The contract offer that my wife has been offered is quite good and it appears we should be easily able to live off of her income. Any money I'm able to make would be a bonus. The main purpose for me looking for something nutrition-related is to stay busy, gain new experience and keep my skills current.

Thanks again!


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## MaidenScotland

mr_hip05 said:


> Thanks for your reply. We've travelled quite extensively, but never visited Egypt, so it is quite valuable hearing from someone living there now...
> 
> My intent for the private practice was a little less formal than your reply indicated. I was more envisioning meeting with expat clients in our home for consultations and/or maybe some type of group classes (topics like weight loss, sports nutrition or nutrition in pregnancy). Pay cash/"under the table" type of thing....Could this sort of thing be done easily/safely without formally setting up a business with the government? ... Are there many of these types of nutrition services provided by Egyptian practitioners?
> 
> As for the volunteering, weaning Egyptians off of sugar is probably not much different than doing so for Canadians!... But there are potentially other areas I was thinking where someone with a background in nutrition might be valuable like, international development (child/maternal health), hospitals or Universities. If anyone has any insight in this type of opportunity, it would be much appreciated.
> 
> The contract offer that my wife has been offered is quite good and it appears we should be easily able to live off of her income. Any money I'm able to make would be a bonus. The main purpose for me looking for something nutrition-related is to stay busy, gain new experience and keep my skills current.
> 
> Thanks again!




Any work you do without a work permit is illegal... so that is up to you. 

I know lots of doctors so I will ask if they have nutrition clinics 
ohh believe me you have not seen a sugar consumption until you come here..plus salt is over used.
Maadi has lots of expats so you probably would be able to network.


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## mr_hip05

I just did a quick search and had no idea the prevalence of overweight & obesity was so high in Egypt! Its even higher than Canada right now - so you're probably right about the their addiction to sweets, fast food, etc...

I'd be very curious about the local nutrition services/clinics, if you're able to find out...

To clarify, I was planning on getting a work permit, just not necessarily registering my private practice as a business as I've read the process can be quite challenging. These are 2 different things aren't they?....


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## Biffy

as far as obtaining a work permit - you can't get a work visa if you have no job!!
Basically.

And trust me the Egyptian addiction is not to fast food - but they LOOOVE sugar.
And if you see a traditional diet then everything is cooked in butter and they fry virtually anything and everything.
Yes they eat salad along ith this too - but it does kind of get lost.
They also totally love their meat - apart from Kushary. And they love fatty meat.


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## MaidenScotland

The national survey that aimed at monitoring the risk factors of non-contagious diseases in 2012 revealed that 51 per cent of Egyptians between the age of 15 and 65 have 3 to 5 risk factors of being victims to non-contagious diseases, such as diabetes and high blood and cholesterol levels. While the other half of the sample population, 48 per cent, have 1 or 2 risk factors, and 0.6 per cent have none.
Dr. Mustafa Hamed, Minister of Health, pointed out that the factors include mainly smoking, not having enough vegetables and fruit daily, lack of exercise, obesity, and high blood pressure.

The survey was done by Egypt's Minister of Health, in collaboration with World Health Organisation (WHO) on 5,300 Egyptian families.

Among the results was that 24.4 per cent are smokers, of which 96 per cent smoke on a daily basis.

The survey indicated that 93.7 per cent of Egyptians never consumed alcohol in their lives, while three-fourths of those who have in the past 12 months only drank alcohol once every month.

The results showed as well that Egyptians consume fruits 3.5 days a week and vegetables 4 days.

Furthermore, the survey reported that 72 per cent of Egyptians do not exercise. The average physical effort related to work exerted in a day did not exceed 118 minutes, while the average time spent inactively was 208 minutes.

It was also revealed that 62 per cent of the population sample is overweight, as the percentage of obesity among women doubled its counterpart among men.

When it comes to non-contagious diseases, 39.7 per cent have high blood pressure. The highest readings were amongst those between the ages of 55 and 65, with a percentage reaching 80.5 per cent.

The survey indicated that from those suffering from blood pressure, only 63 per cent were taking medication. Meanwhile, 17 per cent of the participants had diabetes, among which 20.7 per cent were males and 13.3 per cent females. Of those suffering from diabetes, only 6.4 per cent are under medication, among which 83 per cent is administered by mouth and 25 per cent are treated with insulin.

The survey also concluded that 12 per cent of Egyptians who participated in the survey have high percentages of fat in their blood, cholesterol. This percentage was higher among men than women.


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## MaidenScotland

I really would challenge the smoking percentage..


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## mamasue

MaidenScotland said:


> I really would challenge the smoking percentage..



Me too.....out of all the Egyptians I knew, there were only 2 (husband and wife) who didn't smoke !


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## cairo tiger

MaidenScotland said:


> The survey indicated that 93.7 per cent of Egyptians never consumed alcohol in their lives, while three-fourths of those who have in the past 12 months only drank alcohol once every month.


Haha, you are kidding me.


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## MaidenScotland

The official line is..... never believe an official survey.


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