“Our lifestyle — most influential factor on our health — is behind obesity and many chronic diseases,” Saudi consultant in medicinal nutrition Dr. Khaled Al-Madani told Arab News Sunday.

He said obesity is aggravated by three main factors: Intake of surplus calories, inactivity and poor lifestyle choices.

Al-Madani said the number of calories in fat is usually double their quantity in proteins and carbohydrates. “So when we take fatty food, we increase our calories and get fatter,” he explained.

Al-Madani said inactivity is the second most important cause of obesity. “The more we move, the more we dissolve fats and burn calories,” he said, blaming modern technology to be behind laziness and inactivity.

He warned people against the bad habit of eating too much and said that in order to avoid this, one should take a large quantity of green salad or fruits before eating the main course. “Also, when you are invited for dinner, take some food before you go to the event, to prevent eating too much and, subsequently, taking in too many calories,” he advised.

Al-Madani said the magnitude of obesity in the Kingdom remains to be unknown, because of the lack of statistics. “We do not have integrated studies about the issue in all regions. We have some studies about obesity in certain regions, which cannot be generalized to provide accurate statistics about the problem,” he said.

Al-Madani also said that the habit of fast food has an adverse effect on the health. “Fast meals are usually replete with fats and calories. This is one of the causes behind obesity in our country,” he warned.

The nutritionist said obesity could also occur for hereditary reasons. “Genetic and hereditary reasons have been there since the days of Adam, but they have noticeably increased during the past 30 years,” he said, asking the people who are obese by inheritance to make more efforts to reduce weight.

“Heritage may be responsible for ten to 15 percent of obesity, but the remaining percentage is caused by wrong eating habits, fatty fast food, modern technology and sedentary lifestyle,” he said.

Al-Madani noted that age also plays a role in this problem. “Young children cannot control what they eat, so their families should be careful about what to feed them,” he said.

He warned that obesity is the gateway to many ailments, such as heart diseases, diabetes and arthritis. He noted that these diseases are usually linked to old age, but these days children as young as 12 may have them as a result of obesity.

Al-Madani advised people to avoid heart diseases by eating balanced food, being active and avoiding smoking.

Talking to Arab News, a number of Saudi mothers expressed concern over rising obesity among their children, especially in the light of their inclination toward fast food. “I cannot control what my children eat as long as there are many fast-food restaurants,” said Samar Al-Harithy,  a teacher and mother of two teenage boys and a two-year old daughter.

“I spend most of my days in the classroom or in the car. I find it difficult to monitor what my children eat,” she said, adding that her husband was obese and had to reduce his weight by a surgical operation.