Kuwait 5th most obese nation on Earth

An article in the Arab Times this morning talks about Kuwait being the 5th most obese nation on Earth which I am very surprised about.

The whole article was about the fact that therewas a conference to unveil Children’ s Healthy Eating Plan in restaurants, something maybe other countries should be thinking about.

Here is the article …

The Movenpick-Al Bidaa Hotel in collaboration with Al-Salam Hospital organized a press conference at the hotel premises on Thursday to unveil a Children’s Healthy Eating Menu for the hotel’s restaurants and home service. The event which was attended by officials of the hotel as well as members of the media, saw the Executive Chef of the hotel, Simon Spelling and Aya Samara, Al-Salam Hospital’s Nutritionist, take turns to throw light on the importance of the introduction of healthy diets to children.

Explaining the new concept of children’s menu for the hotel’s restaurants, Spelling stated that the food which first of all includes lentils and additional fibers comes with a lot of fruits and vegetables. The burgers are served with lentils, thus making it a balanced meal. According to Spelling what makes the healthy menu different is that the food is served with toys accompanying them to make it more attractive for the children.

Explaining the pieces of the slides being shown at the event, Samara said according to the World Health Organization expert consultation on obesity, the scourge of obesity could put populations at risk of developing communicable diseases.

As many as 250 million people, about 7% of the world population are obese. Experts have looked at the trend and said if it continues into 2015, approximately 2.3 billion of all people will be overweight with more than 700 million becoming obese.

Defining obesity, Samara said it is an abnormal accumulation of fat which leads eventually to type2 Diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, sleep apnea and strokes. As to why Childhood Obesity is a problem today, Samara stated that it can lead to diabetes and heart disease which can naturally happen to children, thus the special focus being given to it.

Childhood Obesity prevalence in the Middle East in the 1970s was between 4 and 5% and increased to 17.6% in 2006, with more than one third of all adolescents and children being obese in 2008. At a recent first annual obesity conference in Kuwait, it was disclosed that Kuwait was the fifth most obese nation on Earth, a sign that the vigorous education and other measures adopted against the disease could be working, Kuwait, the year before, occupied the top spot in terms of the prevalence of the disease. Childhood Obesity is widespread in the Middle East, with girls being the most affected.

In measuring Childhood Obesity, one should be careful not to categorize all children carrying extra pounds as obese, because children have different body frames and during growth they could have a high percentage of body fat but still not obese.

The Body Mass Index (BMI) is one sure way of measuring obesity, which is calculated using the child’s height and weight, while the other way of measuring a child’s obesity is using the child’s weight status determined by the age and sex because both the age and sex of the child affect obesity. What is used currently in Kuwait are the Center for Disease Control (CDC) chart which is what is used in the United States. On that chart if the child is 85 percentile it is considered overweight and if they are greater than 96 percentile they are considered obese.

Commenting on the results of the study she conducted on Childhood Obesity in Kuwait, Samara stated that a greater percentage of her subjects for the study were found to be above the 96 percentile borderline, showing they were obese.

The causes of Childhood Obesity are both genetic and hormonal, because the epidemic spreads very fast, it cannot be attributed to genetics because it takes some time for that to show up. The surge in Childhood Obesity which tends to confound experts at times is mostly due to the fact that children are eating too much and exercising too little, leading to unnecessary weight gain and finally obesity.
The eating habits of parents are directly related to whether children will be obese or not. If parents have a habit of eating high calorie foods that make them obese, there is a high possibility of the children being obese because they obviously grow up in the high calorie environment with their parents’ eating habits with very little physical activity.

The treatment of Childhood Obesity depends on the child’s age and the presence of other medical conditions. The main thing that has to be treated is the child’s diet and level of physical activity. If there is a good diet plan and the child is exercising, it makes it easy for the child to be helped, but treatment can include medication that could include surgery as well. The success of the treatment really depends on the parents; if the parents really want to help the child then it should work.

One of the treatment plans involves the development of good and healthy eating habits, small changes really do make a difference. “If children are introduced to a healthy foods and they like them, they are more likely to ask for the same foods at home”, said Samara, pointing to the reason for the unveiling of the children’s’ healthy menu at the event, adding that fruits and vegetables, juices and beverages are very important for children to get used to.

If the child learns at a very young age that the food should be home-cooked and eaten together with the family, he or she will grow up with the same habit, which solves the problem of eating junk foods outside.

Increasing physical activity is another way of treating Childhood Obesity, by reducing times for sedentary activities like TV watching, video games, computer and so forth. The parents might need to start exercising if they are obese, so the children will also get interested and join in.

In conclusion, Samara advised that people should make it a bit to promote healthy eating patterns, offer more nutritious snacks, ensure more nutritious foods are available in different outlets, as well as more places for children to exercise in schools, healthcare facilities and parks.

What are your thoughts on this?????