Сhildrеn Physiсаl Асtivity and Оbеsity in Qatar

Сhildrеn Physiсаl Асtivity and Оbеsity in Qatar

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The fast developing countries in the world are faced with a great problem. The problem, although may appear to have far-fetched evidence is real. It is related to the reduced levels of children physical activity in these countries. The escalating rates of obesity and overweight in the developing countries in the last twenty-five years has been alarming. The trend, previously witnessed in the developed nations such as United States and Britain before the last quarter of the twentieth century is now evidence in the developing countries. The most alarming revelation in countries like Saudi Arabia, United Arabs Emirates and Qatar is that the rates of overweight is even more pronounced in school going children. Worth noting is that twenty years ago, the rate of obesity in this region was almost negligible (Speiser et al. 2005 pp. 1871–1887.).

The World Health Organization has regarded childhood overweight and obesity as an emerging issue in health and fitness. According to the available statistics, about 10% of the school-going children in Middle East are obese. The contributing factors for childhood obesity have been identified as binge eating and junk fast foods and lack of enough physical exercise to get rid of the excess calories that accumulate with the foods. From research evidence, unhealthy weight and childhood obesity can track into later childhood, early adulthood and even in the middle-ages (Han et al. 2010 pp.1737–1748.). This means that a child who is obese and lacks physical exercise is at a higher risk of chronic lifestyle diseases late in life.

International epidemic of childhood obesity

Current epidemiological research on childhood obesity has made cross-sectional prevalence of the issue and come up with alarming statistics. Globally, the rates of childhood obesity have increased three-fold in the last decade (Schwartz & Puhl 2003 pp.57–71.). This is not so much as a result of the increase in prevalence in individual countries, but a significant increase in lifestyle change in the developing countries. Countries like Qatar that did not appear in the statistics some years back now features prominently in all the studies performed in the last three years. At such rates, the experts in the health sector are warning of an impending danger in the population. Obesity is directly related to increased prevalence of chronic and life threatening terminal illnesses in late adulthood. If the current trend continues, these chronic illnesses are more likely to strike the population at a much younger age implicating on their productivity. The cost of the healthcare will also increase more than three-fold in the next forty years when the now obese children will be suffering from chronic illnesses.

The reasons for this emergence and alarming increase in the prevalence of childhood obesity in Qatar have not been left out by research. The economic development of the country in the last fifty years has been recognized as one of the best globally. The implication of this is that the living standards of the general population goes up. This has effects on their health in two main ways. First, there is an increased urge to progress economically. The families, therefore, have less time for decent meals. The children as well as their parents depend more on fast foods and processed foods. With fast foods, the caloric intake is more that the body require per serving. The excess calories are stored in the body in the form of fat that can only be successfully removed through exercise. However, with the busy schedule of most parents and the adoption of the popularized “western” culture, exercise and physical activity does not take place. This means that the children gain more weight that is not controlled by exercise (Wang & Lobstein 2006 pp.11–25.).

The Qatar real situation

According to a recent review, the situation of childhood obesity I Qatar requires a major cultural shift. Otherwise, as reported by the local researchers, the children are most likely to die earlier that their parents. The roots of this epidemic, in the Qatar situation, lies in the family home. Besides the fast foods, the pediatric experts in Qatar identify that while children can do anything they are told at school, it is likely that nobody tells them about exercise at home. Instead, the parents encourage their stay indoors and to worsen the situation, and they provide the junk fast foods