JEDDAH: A recent medical study showed that women in the western part of Saudi Arabia are obese compared to their counterparts in the country’s south, Al-Madinah daily reported yesterday.
Dr. Zakariya Al-Doweik, consultant endocrinologist and diabetologist at King Abdul Aziz Specialist Hospital in Taif, said obesity among Saudis has reached alarming proportions.
“About 23.6 percent of women in the Kingdom are obese compared to 14 percent men while weight increase among men is 30.7 percent and 28.4 percent among women.”
Al-Doweik said Saudi Arabia has the highest number of obese people compared to other countries due to their unhealthy lifestyle. Obesity has increased in the Kingdom by 30 percent during the last 10 years, he added.
About 42 percent of the Kingdom’s obese people are in the western region, followed by 40 percent in the central region and 30 percent in the southern region.
23.6 percent of women in Kingdom are obese
