JEDDAH: The percentage of children who are in danger of obesity is 40 percent, says the Fast and Health campaign, which was organized by King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah in cooperation with student deanship and implemented in 27 governorates during Ramadan.
The campaign confirmed that these children gained a lot of weight, which they can only lose through therapeutic and sports programs.
The campaign’s supervisor and consultant in pediatric diabetes and endocrinology in the college of medicine at King Abdul Aziz University, Abdulmein Al-Agha, said the campaign alerted many families about the increased weight of their children and advised them to subject these children to a healthy food program.
He said obesity among children is caused by foods that provide the body with high calories and but lack essential nutrients. Children east fast food on a continuous basis, in addition to laziness and not doing their daily tasks, and depend on servants and domestic help. They sit for hours in front of televisions and eat nuts and additional snacks, reported Alwatan.
Obesity is fast turning out to be a major cause of concern for the Kingdom with seven out of 10 Saudis suffering from obesity, and 37 percent of Saudi women facing problems related to overweight. And to top it all, their problems are compounded because health insurance does not cover obesity surgery.
A study had revealed that a whopping SR500 million per year was spent by people suffering from obesity in the Kingdom on treatment, especially diabetes which is prevalent among a large section of Saudis, including women. The disease had spread at an alarming rate of 30 percent in the past 10 years.
According to a World Health Organization statistics, there are about 1.6 billion adults world-wide who are obese. Nearly 60 percent of the population aged over 16 in the Kingdom was overweight, placing the country in the 29th position among 194 countries.
The campaign confirmed that these children gained a lot of weight, which they can only lose through therapeutic and sports programs.
The campaign’s supervisor and consultant in pediatric diabetes and endocrinology in the college of medicine at King Abdul Aziz University, Abdulmein Al-Agha, said the campaign alerted many families about the increased weight of their children and advised them to subject these children to a healthy food program.
He said obesity among children is caused by foods that provide the body with high calories and but lack essential nutrients. Children east fast food on a continuous basis, in addition to laziness and not doing their daily tasks, and depend on servants and domestic help. They sit for hours in front of televisions and eat nuts and additional snacks, reported Alwatan.
Obesity is fast turning out to be a major cause of concern for the Kingdom with seven out of 10 Saudis suffering from obesity, and 37 percent of Saudi women facing problems related to overweight. And to top it all, their problems are compounded because health insurance does not cover obesity surgery.
A study had revealed that a whopping SR500 million per year was spent by people suffering from obesity in the Kingdom on treatment, especially diabetes which is prevalent among a large section of Saudis, including women. The disease had spread at an alarming rate of 30 percent in the past 10 years.
According to a World Health Organization statistics, there are about 1.6 billion adults world-wide who are obese. Nearly 60 percent of the population aged over 16 in the Kingdom was overweight, placing the country in the 29th position among 194 countries.
