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Kuwait Obesity Ranking: Greasy Skepticism Served with a Side of Fatty Shock

I just read this article that came out in the Kuwait Arab Times yesterday and I have to say: kinda shocked. Basically, the article highlights the issue of child obesity prevalence in Kuwait and some of the efforts that are currently being put forth to try and curb the growing number of children heading in the direction of obesity in Kuwait.

Now, none of that really shocked me. It’s great that Kuwait is taking the initiative to supply healthier food choices, and especially for children WHO WILL LITERALLY SHOVE ANYTHING INTO THEIR MOUTHS. That’s all good. Kudos and golden stars and every other kind of praising remark/gesture to Kuwait. The part of this article which shocked me was its tagline: “Kuwait: 5th most obese nation on earth.”

Is it really?

I mean I know that Kuwait’s got fast food drive-throughs available at every other corner, and I know that most of the options available on restaurant menus in Kuwait are doused in more fat, grease, and a bevy of other artery blocking substances than one would like to take the time to consider BUT! 5th place? Really? Maybe its just me but, for all the unhealthy food choices which litter Kuwait’s eating scene, I found that most people were relatively within the normal range of body weight. I’m sure that they weren’t all the picture of health because I have seen some people who are definitely within or steadily heading towards the obesity range. I don’t claim to be a dietician by any means so I can’t say with exact certainty what constitutes an obese or severely overweight person but STILL 5th place seems kind of unrealistic to me.

The few times that I have made the commitment to join a gym or two in Kuwait (and very sparingly attended) THE PLACE WAS ALWAYS PACKED WITH PEOPLE YO. And I also know that the diet center line of business in Kuwait is booming which means that, even if there is a problem, A LOT of people are making a conscious effort to fix it. Generally speaking, most of the people whom I have come across in my 22 years in Kuwait were not obese. And if you consider how small Kuwait’s population is when compared to many other countries, in order for it to rank so high above the rest of the world about 75% of the population would have to be obese. And I’m pretty sure that would’ve been pretty noticeable.

I actually take some issue with the whole BMI calculating system which these kinds of rankings use. I mean, what if someone has a higher BMI, and is therefore considered heavier, because they’re muscular or because they have a high bone density? There’s a lot of room for error with that kind of calculation.

You see what I’m sayin’ here?

Anyway, I looked up a couple of other statistics on this so-called fact. Some rank Kuwait a little lower but still the claim seems kind of bogus to me (74.2% WHAT?).

I don’t know. Maybe its just me and my absentminded self (in which case I apologize, I guess). And if that’s the case and the problem really IS of that magnitude then I hope something can be done to turn the issue around FAST because at this rate Kuwait might just be your number one holiday destination for lots of diabetic, cholesterol spiking, family fun!

All my love!