Obesity in
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
is a growing health concern, with health officials stating that it is one of the country's leading
causes of preventable death
Preventable causes of death are causes of death related to risk factors which could have been avoided. The World Health Organization has traditionally classified death according to the primary type of disease or injury. However, causes of death ...
s. According to ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'', Saudi Arabia ranks 29 on a 2007
list of the fattest countries with a percentage of 68.3% of its citizens being overweight (
BMI≥25). Compounding the problem, according to a presentation at the 3rd International Obesity Conference in February 2014, is that obesity-related surgeries are not covered under
Saudi healthcare.
See also
*
Epidemiology of obesity
Obesity has been observed throughout human history. Many early depictions of the human form in art and sculpture appear obese. However, it was not until the 20th century that obesity became common — so much so that, in 1997, the World Heal ...
References
Health in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
{{Saudi Arabia stub