Health specialists have rung the warning bell as obesity rate among Saudi children reached 37 percent, affecting more than 1.5 million children across the country. They have urged authorities to adopt quick preventive measures to bring down the rate and improve child health. "Authorities have to set out a comprehensive plan to fight obesity and its dangerous complications," said Dr. Samira Hussein Al-Jebali, a nutritionist at Hera Hospital in Makkah. "We have to intensify awareness campaigns among families and work out special strategies to reduce over weight among children, which can cause 20 other diseases," she said. Among the diseases caused by obesity are sleep disorder, diabetes, blood pressure, breathing difficulty, increase in cholesterol, joint pain and osteoporosis, a medical condition in which bones become brittle and fragile as a result of loss of tissues. The Ministry of Health has launched a variety of programs including seminars and conferences to enlighten public on the dangers posed by obesity among children. Mohammed Al-Abdullah, a parent, said obesity among children is one of the main concerns of parents. "We have been cautioned by doctors and nutritionists on the need to reduce weight of children and provide them with special care," he pointed out. He emphasized the need to create a new generation of children who are not obese. Omar Baakhdar, another parent, called for joint efforts to fight obesity among children, adding that families, schools, universities and mosques should participate in this campaign. "The media should enlighten the public on the danger posed by obesity," said Hassan Ali. "Many families do not take obesity seriously and do not take any measures to control it." Yasmin Ahmed, a mother, said people are now aware of the complexities and health problems caused by obesity as a result of Health Ministry's awareness campaigns. "Charitable organizations that take care of mothers and children also play a significant role in the fight against obesity by distributing pamphlets to create public awareness," she told Al-Madinah Arabic daily. "This has changed the attitude of families toward obesity." Dr. Rawan Nabeeh Rakka, a nutritionist at Hera Hospital, told the Arabic daily that five to six children out of 10 develop obesity symptoms. "We can educate the society about the danger posed by obesity and this will have a positive impact in changing their lifestyle and controlling food intake of children," she added. Rakka called for more campaigns to enlighten the public about the various diseases caused by obesity. "These campaigns should focus on hospitals, universities, schools and markets in order to reach the message to a large number of people," she told Al-Madinah. "We should also make use of social media networks in our fight against obesity," she added.
