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According to the National Nutrition Survey conducted by the Ministry of Health in 2000 and documented in 2002 the overweight and obesity levels among the local Bahraini population are as follows:
Age group: 19 years and above.
Overweight - Males: 36.7%
- Females: 28.3%
Obese - Males: 23.3%
- Females: 31.4%
Dr Nadia Gharib, Senior Nutritionist at the Nutrition Section in Public Health Directorate at the Ministry of Health agrees that Bahrain falls among the Gulf countries that have high levels of obesity among the local population.
“Obesity can be attributed to high consumption of fatty foods, unhealthy eating pattern, portion size and lack of physical activity. Obesity in turn leads to a higher risk factor in contracting chronic ailments like cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes and certain kinds of cancer.
“Looking at the statistics from the National Nutrition Survey, the local female population is specifically more obese and the prevalence of overweight is greater in the male population,” she said.
