Anti-obesity campaign ‘crucial’ for UAE

Abu Dhabi, May 27 (IANS/WAM) With around 24 percent of the people over the age of 20 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) suffering from diabetes, the Emirates’ campaign to fight obesity and promote healthy living will prove to be “crucial”, media reports said.

This countrywide nutrition strategy to help fight obesity and its related complications is a crucial step for the authorities as it could enable the UAE to become a country in which people enjoy healthy living, Gulf News said Thursday.

“The statistics concerning health in the UAE are alarming. For example, the country has the second-highest incidence of diabetes in the world, with an estimated 24 percent of the population over the age of 20 suffering from the disease,” it said.

Lifestyles and habits need to be addressed as the numbers are indicative of a dangerous and widespread trend.

“We need to change the behaviour of the individual. Fast food is available in every city of the world. We cannot change that. We have to catch people early in life,” Mahmoud Fikri, a doctor, was quoted as saying.

–IANS/WAM