A number of them say they find walking the safest, simplest and best form of exercise to improve their health and fitness. “Walking is an activity that one can do practically anywhere at anytime, alone or with a companion,” Hassan Jamal, a middle-aged Saudi business executive, says.

Walking has a variety of valuable physical benefits such as assisting in making the heart and lungs perform more efficiently, keeping blood pressure properly regulated, decreasing the level of artery-clogging blood fats while increasing the level of high-density lipoproteins — the “good” HDL cholesterol, reducing the odds of developing heart disease, firming and shaping up muscles, relieving tension and raising one’s energy level, according to a senior physician at International Medical Center. Walking also aids in weight loss, strengthening bones, and may serve to halt or lessen the degree of severity of osteoporosis, the bone-thinning disease that commonly occurs in older, inactive women but sometimes strikes younger women and, to a lesser extent, men.

A recent independent study on healthy eating and fitness trends in Saudi Arabia revealed that Saudis are generally aware of what constitutes a healthy diet, and that exercise, especially walking, is part of their routine.

The survey was conducted by Zarca Interactive, a US-based company with over seven years of established expertise in online survey solutions in the Middle East, among 400 odd respondents of which more than 50 percent were Saudis. The second largest group of respondents, at 27 percent was other Arabs, followed by Asian expatriates including Indians. Of the total respondents, more than 90 percent were males.

The study shows that 75 percent of respondents exercise, with 25 percent claiming to exercise at least three times a week. More than half of the total respondents said walking was their preferred form of exercise, especially among Asian expatriates and local Arab nationals. The study found that respondents over 45 years of age exercised more regularly than the younger age group. However, almost 27 percent of total respondents said they never exercise at all, of which 31 percent were Arab expatriates, followed by local Saudi nationals at 28 percent. Respondents aged 25-44 years were the majority of those who said they never exercise at all.

The study did, however, corroborate certain trends highlighted in World Health Organization reports during the recent meeting at the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean region in Egypt.

It alerted that the increasing use of television and computers were leading to sedentary lifestyles. In the study, over 57 percent of Asian expatriates, over 48 percent of Arab expatriates and over 40 percent of Saudi nationals said television was their preferred means of relieving stress instead of physical activity. Laptops and computers were also high on the list of stress relieving means among both local and expatriate Arabs.

On the diet and nutritional front, almost four fifths of respondents said they consume breakfast, majority of which were Asian expatriates, followed by local Saudi nationals, and Arab expatriates.

The most consumed breakfast was toast at 37 percent, followed by coffee or tea, eggs and cereals. Over 68 percent of Asian respondents, 47 percent of local Saudi respondents and over 40 percent of Arab expatriates said they consume three meals per day, including breakfast.

Almost half of the respondents said they have their largest meal in the evenings two to three times per week, the majority being respondents over 55 years of age. Fifty percent of respondents said healthy eating constitutes a mixture of foods including carbs, protein, fiber and fats, while 40 percent cited healthy foods to be a mixture but low fat. Sixty-six percent of respondents consumed at least 1.5 liters of water per day, however, Saudi nationals were generally found to consume less water than Asian and Arab expatriates.

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