Obsession with weight loss has been widespread in the West for decades but it is a fairly new phenomenon in the Middle East. A sharp increase in obesity in this part of the world has, however, been noted especially among children adolescents and women.
In the Kingdom, 66% of Saudi women are obese and 52% of the adult population is overweight. Obesity, the accumulation of excessive amounts of body fat, must be differentiated from overweight which is too much heaviness for body height based on a standard measurement. The weight increase is due to two main factors: First, a rising living standard has brought rich, refined food within the reach of lower and middle income groups and second, people live more sedentary lives. It must be said in all honesty that the Middle East is an area with a traditional sweet tooth: Serving sweets and chocolates to guests is very much a part of local customs. The confectionery market in the region is witnessing continuous expansion especially with a young and fast growing population (70% of the Saudi population is under 30 and 50% of the UAE’s is under 16). The market for sweets in Saudi Arabia increased between 2001 and 2006, growing at an average annual rate of 4.7%.
This increase of obesity in the region has triggered a need for diet centers. Yorgo Yammine, founder of the Diet Delight Nutrition and Diet Clinic in Lebanon, explains that children as young as 10 have high blood cholesterol, due to bad habits of eating and sitting all day in front of the computer and television without taking any physical exercise.
The lack of willpower, coupled with the difficulty of losing weight, is sending many people into diet centers for help. The need for specialized programs — dietary management and exercise classes — in order to control obesity is definitely rising. Moreover, a growing number of customers are looking for ready-made diet meals. In 1990, Lebanese-born Sawsan Wazzan Jabri, founder of the Nutrition and Diet Center, was the first in the Middle East to set up a catering business specializing in door-to door delivery of diet meals. Wazzan and her husband Rifaat Jabri established the first Diet Center and Diet Shop in Lebanon. In the wake of its success, the husband and wife team opened outlets in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar. Their aim is to get people to learn how to make healthy choices about food and to remain slim and fit in the long run. Due to increasing demands for healthy food, the Diet Center has been asked to provide catering for restaurants and hotels: “All hospitality institutions now feature low fat menus,” Wazzan explains.
A clinical dietician by profession, Monique Bassila became known to a wider audience thanks to her nutrition programs on Alaan TV. She has now set up a chain of specialized clinics under the brand “Sohi wa Sarih”. Her goal is to provide various diet programs catered to the needs and lifestyles of each client. Bassila also offers an online support service and plans to open outlets all over the Middle East.
Taking a more scientific approach, the UAE-based VLCC center specializes in tailor-made fitness and beauty services. Their programs are based on a multi-disciplinary, integrated scientific approach which analyses and studies individual body compositions. Each VLCC center has a team of professionals, including doctors, dieticians and nutritionists, who help the client lose weight. The company which has 7 centers in the UAE plans to open 28 centers throughout the Middle East by 2010.
With an increase in hypertension, diabetes, and cardiac diseases, the Middle East is also witnessing a growing demand for healthy foods and snacks. However, most consumers who select snack food or beverages do not consider health factors; they choose to consume these unhealthy products based on their taste alone. “Although healthy products remain a small percentage of overall indulgent snack releases, the indication is that a growing number of consumers wish to snack indulgently but in a guilt-free manner,” concludes consumer market analyst Richard Parker.
On the other hand, some experts think that the obesity epidemic has been exaggerated because too many people are considered fat, with obesity and overweight often lumped together. In 2005, Katharine Flegal of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, showing that overweight people live longer than normal-weight people.
In other research, Flegal and her colleagues found no link between death rates and weight. It has to be said that in certain conditions such as heart attacks, fat patients often have better chances of surviving than thin ones. While people should not conclude that it is all right to be overweight, the fact is that not everybody who gains weight is going to suffer from heart disease or diabetes. “Being moderately plump is not a health disadvantage. Some overweight people may not look svelte, but they may be perfectly healthy,” says Dr. Vincent Marks, emeritus professor of clinical biochemistry at the University of Surrey.
The current obsession for diets should not prevent people from making the right decisions where their health is concerned. One should not only ask the right questions but also receive acceptable answers. Many centers dealing with weight loss programs often promise more that they can deliver. They also make losing weight sound far easier than it really is.
