Many Emiratis and expatriates are 'obese'

Dubai: A majority of Emiratis and Western expatriates are overweight, and obesity needs to tackled urgently as it leads to chronic diseases, doctors have warned.

Obesity creates a major risk for diet-related chronic diseases such as Type II diabetes, cardiovascular illness, hypertension and stroke, and in some circumstances even certain forms of cancer.

The Wellness and Spas Middle East exhibition will take place from June 7 to 9 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre and will promote personal wellness throughout the UAE and Middle East.

Elaine O'Connell, senior show manager, believes the special focus on fitness and slimming will benefit the many thousands of consumers across the region who are taking an avid interest in leisure-related health activities.

She noted that figures indicate that 60 per cent of Emiratis are overweight and that this figure is broadly in line with the obesity levels within the expatriate community, particularly those from the West.

"It is a problem for the whole region; in fact, the UAE has the second highest rate of Type II diabetes in the world, and the Middle East, as a whole, is under a serious obesity epidemic."

It is not just the UAE. More than 60 per cent of the one million people who live in Bahrain are either overweight or obese. In Saudi Arabia 66 per cent of women are overweight, while Kuwait has been ranked eighth in the World's Fattest Countries table, ahead of the US.

Many industry experts blame the soaring obesity rates to the growing affluence of the Gulf states.

Also the lack of health education is often sighted as a cause.

Wellness and Spas Middle East will take place along side Beauty-World Middle East.