UAE and Arab Countries Explodes with Obesity

Here are the numbers according to national study.

10-year-old male UAE children had 1.7 times the rate of overweight compared to international standards and 1.9 times at 18 years.

Similarly, female UAE children have 1.8 times the rate of overweight compared to international standards at 10 and 18 years of age.

Obesity was 2.3-fold higher among UAE males at 14 years compared to international standards, and increased to 3.6 times at 18 years of age. Among UAE female children, obesity was same as males at 14 years, 2.3 times than the international standards.

At 18 years of age, UAE female obesity was 1.9-fold higher than the international standard, nearly one-half the rate of obesity among UAE males at the same age.

WHO reported that 13.5 per cent of the UAE population was diabetic, the second-highest prevalence of the disease in the world; this figure is expected to rise to 19.3 per cent by 2030. The report also said over 50 per cent of men and women in the UAE were overweight or obese.

How did it happen?

Our lifestyle has changed our earning has gone up and with it came obesity and other health problems, restaurants are everywhere and cooking at home is thing of the past and considered waste of time for today's young couple.

Our consumption of red meat is highest in the world, eating food rich in animal fat is the road to obesity, and lack of exercise makes it easier for fat to stay happily in our body. Only exercise we practice is while shopping and it is not enough to burn our body fat.

School children dine outside after school, having lunch at home is unfashionable and fun time is playing computer games for hours, not like the old days where we played outside the house in hot sun.

Our kids are used to eat processed food and fast food, processed unhealthy snacks is available in every home.

Saying all that it is clear that obesity starts from home, kids learn what is healthy and what is not from home, parents need to practice eating healthy food and pass it to their children and we need to introduce greens to our kids eating habits.

It should not be about what we like to eat, it has to be about what is healthy. Without parents playing their parts at home obesity problem will not go away and parents need to understand that obese kids will put financial and emotional pressure on the family.

Source: articlesbase.com