People’s “bad habits” are the major cause of increasing cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, which are major factors in high mortality rates, said Health Ministry Public Health Directorate nutrition section head Dr Nadia Gharib.
Speaking on the sidelines of an obesity prevention and management workshop at the Elite Grand Hotel, Seef, she revealed the latest estimates suggested 43pc of Bahrain’s population was overweight and obese.
“The figure was 35.3pc three years ago and this suggests we have a huge problem on our hands,” she said.
Dr Gharib said 60pc of men and 62pc women were obese, while the figure for schoolchildren was 21pc for boys and 26pc for girls.
“This is obviously a major challenge to the national health strategy and it is this strategy that is working to rid Bahrain of this killer,” she said.
The official blamed very low levels of physical activity and their poor eating habits for spiralling mortality rates.
Dr Gharib said Bahrain’s national health strategy aimed at creating intervention programmes to enhance public awareness, encouraging legislation to improve the quality of food services and products and direct intervention through obesity clinics.
“Our programmes are also now looking at addressing issues related to risks of obesity,” she said. “We feel that while people are increasingly becoming aware of the risks, there is a long way to go before we can reach anywhere.”
Dr Gharib said obesity management clinics that had been set up in health centres across Bahrain had received an encouraging response from people.
“We deal with people in such a way that they feel the success of losing weight,” she said.
Health Ministry public health and primary care assistant under-secretary Dr Mariam Al Jalahma, who opened the workshop, said the ministry was co-ordinating its efforts with Bahrain’s municipalities and Education Ministry.
She said besides sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy eating habits, another factor contributing to obesity was stress levels.
“We have results of surveys that suggest more than half the people in Bahrain are not sleeping properly and that is affecting their stress levels and in turn leading to bad eating habits and obesity,” she said.
The day-long workshop was attended by representatives of schools, health centres, health and nutrition experts and health education specialists.
The GDN reported on Saturday that more than half of the population was unable to get the recommended eight hours of sleep a night and that 69pc did not have time for breakfast.
The Dubai-based Zarca Interactive survey revealed a “sedentary revolution” sweeping Bahrain was the result of an obsession with fast foods and fizzy drinks, an over-dependence on vehicles and addiction to the Internet and television.
Gulf Daily