Kuwaiti women place fifth worldwide in obesity

A recently published book revealed that Kuwaiti women took fifth place on the worldwide obesity index. The book, titled “Top 10 Of Everything 2011,” studied the percentage of women younger than 25 years of age suffering from obesity. The book revealed that in Kuwaiti, 31.8 percent of women in this category suffer from obesity. According to the book’s British author, Russell Ash, first place was occupied by the Kingdom of Bahrain, where 42 percent of women below the age of 25 are obese or overweight.

In second place was the United States with 36 percent, followed by Portugal and Spain with 34.3 percent and 32 percent respectively.

This revelation was revealed at the same time as a local campaigner revealed that almost half of Kuwait’s female students are overweight. Gethealthykuwait.com found that 45 percent of female students tested for obesity were found to be overweight or obese,” said Sami Al-Bader, Chief Nutritionist of Gethealthykuwait.com. The campaigner’s press release read that “out of 232 teenage girls tested in six schools, expert nutritionists found that 17 percent suffer from high cholesterol levels while nine percent have high glucose levels.

Obesity is determined by measuring a person’s body mass index (BMI), a measurement that compares a person’s weight to their height. People with a BMI between 25 kilograms per meter squared and 30 kilograms per meter squared are considered overweight while those with a BMI between 30 kilograms per meter squared and 35 kilograms per meter squared are considered obese.

In many cases, the BMI results we are finding in schools is higher than 30 when the healthy range should be between 20 and 25,” said Al-Bader. “This means that many of these girls are well into the obesity stages. Parents must be especially conscious of these alarming results because they are the foundation of their children’s dietary and nutritional requirements.” “Healthy eating behavior starts at home and parents must encourage healthy eating habits for their children,” he added.

Al-Bader, who is also the Diet Care Operations Manager for the campaign revealed that among the reasons for increased obesity in Kuwait is a lack of activity, caused partially by the hot climate, office based jobs, bad eating habits and overeating. He explained that obesity is not a matter of a better physical appearance. He said that obesity is a dangerous illness that can increase the likelihood of various diseases, such as heart disease, type two diabetes, breathing difficulties and certain types of cancer.

Kuwait times