Dubai:
If you want to prevent obesity and diabetes, you have to ensure regular meal, sleep and work timings, suggests new international research.
This advice is highly relevant in the UAE - a country striving to reduce the current rate of obesity and diabetes.
In July, the UAE was listed seventh on the Global Fat Scale among 177 countries, calculated using UN data on population size and estimates of global weight from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) pegs the percentage of diabetic UAE residents — Emiratis and expatriates — at more than 20 per cent with another 18 per cent at high risk.
The international paper titled ‘Living against the clock’ highlights how the irregularity in meal, sleep and work timings that defines our current hectic, 24-hour lifestyle leads to an increased likelihood of developing obesity and diabetes.
Dr Waffa Al Bassam, Dubai-based certified clinical dietician, health coach and diabetes educator told Gulf News it is well established that irregular eating patterns disrupt the natural body clock and interfere with the body’s metabolism whereas a fixed timetable for meals (balanced) improves metabolism and helps prevent obesity.
“Irregular eating and missing meals disrupt metabolism, making it harder to lose weight. It causes the body to slow down, forcing the brain to read it as a sign of ‘starvation’, resulting in fat storage. It also affects blood sugar negatively, forcing food cravings. The effects of irregular eating include fatigue, malnutrition and decreased concentration, and can negatively impact a person’s emotional state,” she said.
Speaking to Gulf News Dr. Lalit Uchil, specialist internal medicine at Welcare Ambulatory Care Centre, Dubai, said sleep impacts calorie burning, appetite, and hunger hormones, and sleep loss is associated with an increase in appetite.
He said, “A person in a weight loss programme who gets adequate hours of sleep during the night tends to lose more weight compared to those who are sleep deprived. Sleep deprivation or poor quality sleep leads to unhealthy habits like binge eating and/or unhealthy food choices.”
According to Norma Cairns, counselling psychologist, LifeWorks Counselling and Development, Dubai, humans need to incorporate routine, time management and self-discipline to promote balance, productivity and functionality.
She told Gulf News, “People fall in the trap of either working too hard or playing too hard or both, pushing the body out of rhythm. The occasional lack of exercise, late nights and poor diets won’t do much harm, but when done over an extended period of time, people will suffer from fatigue, lack of interest, lack of appetite, etc. Irregular routines could also lead to weight gain.”
She added, “Moderation is key – whether with work timings or sleep. The latter is restorative, and one should aim to sleep before midnight and typically for seven to eight hours.”
