Dr. Khalid Bawaked, head of the Conference on Nutrition and Obesity, speaks about the increasing number of people suffering from obesity in the Kingdom. (Saudi Gazette photo by Mohannad Sharawi) JEDDAH: The Conference on Nutrition and Obesity which concluded here Tuesday heard calls for new plans to stop the rise in obesity in Gulf societies and expressed concern at the lack of public awareness over adulterated medicines and herbs of unknown origin. Participants also exploded a few myths popular in those societies, saying that neither rice nor water causes a fat belly, and that strapping up one's midriff tightly does not reduce the buildup of fat. Dr. Abdullah Al-Baddah from the National Center for Alternative Medicine said that the rise in rates of obesity had created a black market for medicines and that trade was flourishing in herbs of unknown origin that exploit people of limited medical knowledge. “A lot of people have started turning to alternative medicine and holistic medicine,” he said. “There are also other alternative complementary forms of medical treatment currently used to tackle obesity such as acupuncture, hypnotism, medicinal herbs and energy treatment, and we should make people aware of which practices are beneficial and which are not.” Dr. Abdul Rahman Musaiqir, head of the Arab Center for Nutrition at Bahrain University, warned against erroneous information in the media, “especially television, the Internet, and in women's magazines”. “All these have led people to try out incorrect methods to lose weight, and among the most popular myths in Gulf society are that eating rice and drinking water with meals increase belly size, grapefruit helps reduce fat, strapping up your belly reduces fat, sweating reduces fat, skipping breakfast helps weight loss, and that saunas help burn fat,” he said. He added that other beliefs persist, such as that walking does not help reduce fat levels and that if excessive weight is hereditary nothing can be done about it. “A healthy diet, exercise and proper nutritional information is my advice,” he said. Musaiqir had spoken frankly on Sunday at the opening of the conference, when he described Gulf society as “suffering from a rise in obesity, particularly in women”, a problem he said that was partly disguised by the traditional black female over-garment worn in the Gulf. “The abaya serves to hide the extent of obesity in Gulf women,” he said. “In the same way, the male thobe garment also hides men's bellies.” Obesity is a growing public health problem and one of the leading causes of preventable deaths in Saudi Arabia. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Saudi Arabia reported one of the largest percentages of obesity at around 35.6 percent and came in third position behind the tiny Pacific Island nations of Nauru at 78.5 percent and Tonga at 56 percent. These were the alarming statistics presented by Dr. Raja'a Al-Raddadi, a community medicine consultant and head of the research and studies department at the Jeddah Health Directorate. She said obesity is associated with cardiovascular disease, hypertension, gallbladder diseases and certain types of cancer. Al-Raddadi told Saudi Gazette that the prevalence of obesity in the Kingdom increased from 22.1 percent in the early nineties to 35.6 percent in 2005. “The growing epidemic of obesity can be explained by the rapid changes in dietary patterns and physical inactivity especially among women and girls,” she said. Traditional diets rich in grains, fiber, fruits and vegetables have been replaced with meals high in fats, sugar and sodium. “Saudis, especially females, also spend more time watching television and less time on physical activities. Reversing these trends requires drastic changes in individual behavior and the elimination of societal barriers to healthy lifestyle choices through some preventive health programs,” she added. According to Dr. Khalid Bawaked, the head of the conference and a former chairman of the Saudi Society for Family and Community Medicine (SSFCM), the conference focused on four main issues: the nature and prevalence of obesity, educating people about healthy food, ways to reduce weight, including some approved dietary natural medicine, surgery and alternative and supplementary medicine like herbal therapy, acupuncture and yoga. Dr. Adnan Al-Sheikh, a consultant pediatric endocrinologist at King Khalid National Guard Hospital in Jeddah, said obesity was increasing around the world, especially in children, causing various diseases and also resulting in impaired quality of life, poor self esteem, and depression. Dr. Fahd Al-Osaimi, a psychosomatic medicine psychiatrist at King Saud University, said studies have documented high rates of obesity among individuals with binge eating disorder, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, schizophrenia, and other psychiatric illnesses.
