Dubai is fat. And it's the convenience of everything that has made us lazy. I'm as much of a fan of cheap fast food, taking escalators and golf buggies, getting valet parking and even getting my shopping delivered as the next overpampered expat.
It's no wonder most of us find ourselves with a spare tyre around their middle after a few months. But why don't we just go outside and sweat it out? If you're anything like me, you will blame the heat and the lack of places to walk for your laziness.
But it's not just the aesthetic issue that we need to address; it's the health one too.
Almost 70 per cent of the UAE is overweight and diabetes rates are some of the highest in the world.
It's an issue VLCC is highlighting during its present month-long anti-obesity drive. Barely a day goes by where the world's newspapers aren't full of breakthrough weight-related research.
I have recently read that scientists had underestimated how many calories people can healthily consume in a day (though with most of the developed world growing steadily fatter, one has to wonder what good this research will do).
I have also read reports on how a scientist has proven that fad diets, such as the grapefruit diet, don't work. Well, knock me down with a feather.
After seeing some particularly unflattering photos of mine at a beach party, I embarked on a healthy — or perhaps I should just say healthier — eating plan and exercise regime about six months ago.
So far I have lost ten kilograms. When I started, I was determined to see quick results.
Detoxing on fruit and vegetables only? Check. Slimming treatments? Check. Starving myself on ridiculously small amounts of calories? You bet. Wearing shoes that are supposed to help you get a workout? Two pairs.
I read every slimming feature and every tabloid-reported story on weight loss, hoping to find a way to shift the pounds that wouldn't impinge on the lifestyle I enjoyed (mainly a love affair with bread and Ben & Jerry's ice-cream).
Unfortunately, until I accepted I needed to change my whole outlook, the weight only came off very gradually.
When my weight came to a standstill for two months, I knew it was time to change something.
I was managing to maintain a reasonable weight but I realised I couldn't go on eating out a couple of times a week, then attempting to balance the damage by virtually starving myself and taking a chilled-out yoga class the next day.
As boring as it sounds, my weight started falling only when I started running 3.5 kilometres in the mornings, taking intensive two-hour boxing classes, walking the 39 floors up to my flat and generally moving a whole lot more. Not just a bit more but a lot more.
But the best part was I got to eat more. I learnt a bit about nutrition (luckily, in my job, I get to meet some very interesting people, including nutritionists and personal trainers) and they all told me I was starving myself and that if I increased my protein intake, I would increase my strength, start to lose weight and gain muscle. And hey presto - I did. Instantly.
Unfortunately, there aren't any quick fixes. You just have to stop being so bone idle and greedy. So stop reading the reports and falling for the latest fad diet that some celebrity did.
To lose weight, you need to put in the effort to move a lot more and you need to educate yourself to eat right — not necessarily less.
According to the World Health Organisation, over 700 million adults will be obese by 2015.
This is surely as good a reason as any to get your trainers on and be determined not to be one of those 700 million.
Don't wait until the New Year. The Standard Chartered Marathon, ten kilometres and fun, takes place on January 22. Stop making excuses and sign up. I will see you there — hopefully, at the finish line.
