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A Brief Note On Obesity And Saudi Society Essay

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4: Importance obesity in Saudi society : Obesity is confirmed to have serious dangerous effects in health. obese people will be at a greater risk of developing chronic conditions that compromise their general health and may even result in premature death. Socio-economic problems related to the condition are also common. These can range from aches-and-pains that lead to lose valuable work-time to psychological concerns including low self-esteem. Obesity is thus considered one of the world 's most prevalent, chronic and disabling conditions. [ This problem, although not unique to Saudi Arabia, is a major healthcare challenge facing Saudi society. Approximately, one-third of the Saudi population is now overweight and one-third is obese ] (Obesity Research Center) [ Dr. Abdul Majeed Al-Abdulkarim, vice president, postgraduate studies and academic affairs at King Saud University for Health Sciences, said obesity is one of the most widespread contemporary diseases in most societies]. [ Quoting from World Health Organization (WHO) statistics, he said there are about 1.6 billion adults world-wide who are obese. Nearly 60 percent of the population aged over 16 in the Kingdom was overweight, placing the country in the 29th position among 194 countries, he said]. 6: Causes of the obesity : • Genetics : chances of being overweight are greater if one or both of parents are overweight or obese. genes also may affect the amount of fat store in the body and where on body carry the extra

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