Kids in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, get ready to kick off the flab, and hit the gym. Recent studies have shown that 3.5 million children suffer from overweight problems because of bad eating habits and lack of exercise.
The problem has given rise to heart diseases, diabetes and high blood pressure among children. And nearly 20,000 Saudis died in 2013 due to complication from obesity.
“The government figures indicate that nearly 36 percent of the Saudi population of about 29 million suffer from overweight problems, but the actual percentage could be as high as 70 percent,” the report said.
“Self-control is the most important part of our daily lives,” said Muhammad Fahad, who owns a local health fitness gym. “It can make people healthier and successful. We should try to control our bad eating habits and add some physical exercises in daily routine.”
A recent study conducted by King Abdulaziz Medical City showed that 23.1 percent children are overweight, with 9.3 percent of the child population between 5 and 18 years of age deemed obese and 2 percent morbidly obese.
General physician Dr. Shumaila Tariq said: “Most of the children eat processed and fast food that is less healthy than home-cooked meals. These fatty foods cause poor brain functioning, poor sleep and unhealthy life.”
Overweight and obesity are the fifth leading risk for global deaths in the 21st century. At least 2.8 million adults die each year as a result of being overweight and obese.
Ahsanullah, a child specialist, said many people who are overweight or obese actually tend to know how they should be eating and that they should be exercising. “People should encourage themselves and spend some time for exercises and have healthy meals.”
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