Obesity and diabetes are raging concerns in the oil-rich Gulf monarchies. A combination of diet with too many calories and sedentary lifestyle has brought about the disturbing reality. Authorities have come to realize the gravity of the situation and are now increasing awareness in the hope of appeasing the taste for foods high in calories served in restaurant chains that have proliferated in the region.
Young people are also encouraged to get into sports. In malls where people spend much of their free time in these countries, facilities for diabetes detection have been put up.
According to recent official statistics, 70 percent of adults and 12 percent of children in the UAE are overweight. A fifth of these overweight children are at risk of becoming diabetic. Of the six Gulf monarchies, Emirates is the country most affected. Statistical data from 2005 showed that 19.6 percent of the population suffered from diabetes, the second highest rate in the world. In fact, official statistics predict that if nothing is done to prevent this, the proportion of people in the country that will have diabetes by 2025 is 28 percent.
The remaining countries of the region are not far behind. In Qatar, 15 percent of the population has diabetes. In Bahrain, 14.3 percent are diabetes sufferers. The corresponding figure in Oman is 13 percent. In Saudi Arabia, 25 percent of those over 30 years of age have the disease.
Nobody in this picture is obese…