IDEAL Nutrition Jamaica was established to address the growing problem of obesity and its related health issues, such as diabetes and hypertension.

The weight loss clinic, which conducted its first workshop in April, provides dieters with a nutritional plan and the food to go with it.

As a medical doctor, the founder of Ideal Nutrition, Camara Brown, was all too aware of the high levels of obesity in Jamaica — a 2010 study showed that 52 per cent of women were either overweight or obese.

But it was when she was doing an elective in Canada for her residency training that she came across Ideal Protein nutritional products, which she now imports for her business.

“I am one of those typical grazers — one of those people who eat every three hours,” Brown told the Business Observer. “I got hungry and one of my supervisors gave me a protein bar. It kept me filled for about five hours and I thought that was phenomenal and tried to get the product.”

It took her nearly two months to find a source for the product, probably because advertising has largely been based on word of mouth.

But to get the product she would actually have to open a clinic, which she did at the Winchester Gym, but not without challenges.

“As a doctor, I have no business training, and there are no government bodies to support you,” said Brown. “There is no central governing body to advise on anything business related.”

To import the product she found herself at three separate ministries — trade, health and agriculture — and that was separate from the trip she made to the trade board.

“It was definitely trial and error… no one ministry could advise where I needed to go,” she said. “When importing processed or packaged food, if it contains milk products you have to go to the Ministry of Agriculture, but you wouldn’t know that it is actually the vetinerary division that issues permits (because it has product from animals).”

She only learned of the different import requirements when her goods reached the island.

But now that she has got over the hiccups, Brown feels confident in the business’s success, or at least that of the product in Jamaica.

According to Brown, Ideal Protein differentiates itself from other weight loss products in four main ways: it provides food; it is phased to safeguard against yoyoing or roller-coaster dieting; its unique support system has a doctor, or coach identified by that doctor, accessible at all times; and, apart from, gradually changing individuals metabolism, it also pushes them to consume more vegetables — an integral part of the programme is to eat four cups of vegetable each day and an unlimited amount of lettuce.

Vegetables have numerous vitamins, fibre which helps to expel harmful free radicals and toxins that come from fat when weight is being lost.

“It is a very simple business model, based on word of mouth and the success of individual dieters,” said Brown. “When a person has lost weight and comes off medication for diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidemia, feels better, looks beter and is healthier, the word spread.”

She aims to establish Ideal Nutrition in at least four parishes in Jamaica within the next five years, and is looking at Trinidad and Barbados as potential markets for her business.