A recent study in the medical journal The Lancet found a dramatic rise in obesity and overweight status, particularly among young people, in the Middle East, The National reported on Monday, highlighting the contrasts in a region also suffering significant malnutrition.
While countries such as Yemen have been on the brink of famine for the better part of a decade, the wealthier populations in oil-rich Gulf states have seen a dramatic increase in disposable income and the availability of unhealthy food, particularly imported fast foods in luxury destinations such as Dubai and Kuwait. Countries that a generation ago struggled with high rates of poverty have not yet adapted their government and education policies to address the prevalence of unhealthy food or the lack of an exercise culture, the study indicated.
The study focused on overweight and obese people around the world, finding that the developing world – not just the Middle East, but locations such as Latin America – is facing rising obesity rates as it generates more wealth.
The National, based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), reported that the study found that “scientists expect the Middle East will overtake North America as the world’s most out-of-shape region if ‘startling’ trends in weight gain over the last 30 years continue.”
The newspaper spoke to one of the collaborators on the study, Susan Sawyer, who warned, “the Middle East and North Africa, together with Latin America and the Caribbean, are the two regions in the world where over the last 30 years we’ve seen the most rapid increases.”
“By the middle of the century, 55 per cent of the region’s young people (aged five to 24) will be overweight or obese, according to the projections,” the newspaper observed, highlighting that this figure would be higher than those in America and Canada. “In some Gulf countries, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, it is expected that more than 70 per cent of young people will be overweight or obese.”
The study used data from 180 countries to assess weight trends, particularly in youth, since 1990 and made predictions for the next 30 years. It used body mass index to track weight trends since 1990 in adults, defining “overweight” as having a BMI between 25 and 30 and obese as a BMI of 30 and over. Many scientists have argued that BMI, while widely used by scientists and doctors alike to assess health, is at best an imperfect tool, as it does not take into account a person’s genetic background, fat to muscle ratio, or other critical body statistics. For children, however, the study used International Obesity Task Force factors to determine overweight or obese status.
On a global scale, the study found that almost one million adults fell into the definition of overweight or obese in 1990 compared to 2.6 billion in 2021, an astronomical increase. By 2050, the study predicted that number would go up to 3.8 billion.
The rapid boom in national wealth in oil-rich Gulf countries has attracted interest from nutritional researchers and fast food investors alike for over a decade. In 2012, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania described the Middle East as boasting a “bottomless” demand for Western fast food.
“Despite their relatively small populations, Gulf countries are fast food markets worth billions, and franchises have hastened their entry into the region,” a report by the school at the time observed.
“According to a survey by MasterCard, Gulf consumers were the top three spenders on restaurants — UAE diners spent an average of US$229 per month,” it continued. “Qataris averaged US$211 per month, and Kuwaitis spent US$196 per month. The same survey found that 88% of respondents said they dined in shopping mall food courts.”
The report noted that following the collapse of Muammar Qaddafi’s anti-American regime in Libya, the pastry chain Cinnabon opened its first storefront in the country.
As of 2023, researchers estimated that the fast food market in the Arab world – the Middle East and North Africa – was valued at $37.23 billion. It is expected to be worth over $52 billion in 2032.
Youth overweight status has become a particular problem – one that UNICEF identified as coexisting with child malnutrition and conditions such as stunting, when a child does not grow to full adult height due to lack of food.
“At least 77 million – or 1 in 3 – children in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have some form of malnutrition, according to the Regional Nutrition Strategic Direction for MENA launched by UNICEF,” the United Nations agency revealed in August. Another 55 million children, however, were identified as overweight or obese in the same region.
“The Middle East and North Africa region is confronting an increasingly complex triple burden of malnutrition that is undermining the growth, development and future potential of its children,” UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Adele Khodr said in a statement at the time. “Just one-third of young children are receiving the nutritious foods they need to grow, develop and thrive.”
The lead author of the Lancet study published recently, Emmanuela Gakidou of the United States-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), described the rise in overweight status around the world as “a profound tragedy and a monumental societal failure.”
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