According to a new study by the Lancet, the world is getting fatter and the prevalence of overweight and obesity has increased in children and adolescents in developing countries to 12.9% in 2013 for boys and 13.4% in girls. Here are some of the numbers related to Lebanon and the Arab countries that I’ve collected from the study.
Obese Boys < 20 years
Lebanon – 15.9%
Bahrain – 9.3%
Iraq – 8.2%
Kuwait – 16.7%
Jordan – 8.0%
Palestine – 11.9%
Qatar – 18.8%
Saudi Arabia – 9.4%
Syria – 13.9%
UAE – 12.2%
Obese Men >= 20 years
Lebanon – 26.3%
Bahrain – 31%
Iraq – 25.7%
Kuwait – 43.4%
Jordan – 27.5%
Palestine – 29.8%
Qatar – 44.0%
Saudi Arabia – 30%
Syria – 24.2%
UAE – 27.1%
Obese Girls < 20 years
Lebanon – 12.5%
Bahrain – 10.7%
Iraq – 8.2%
Kuwait – 23.3%
Jordan – 8%
Palestine – 12.5%
Qatar – 15.5%
Saudi Arabia – 14.8%
Syria – 15.4%
UAE – 12.6 %
Obese Women >= 20 years
Lebanon – 29.3%
Bahrain – 24.9%
Iraq – 37.5%
Kuwait – 58.6%
Jordan – 45.6%
Palestine – 42.4 %
Qatar – 54.7%
Saudi Arabia – 44.4%
Syria – 39.9%
UAE – 33.2%
The number of obese boys and girls in Lebanon is quite high and alarming. You can download the full report [Here] (sign up required).