Increasing Obesity in UAE among School Students

With the rise of fast food and dining out trends, the frequency of obesity among youth in the UAE is two to three times greater than, as mentioned recently in international standards. According to an article published in the Annals of Human Biology in 2005, obesity was 2.3-fold greater in UAE males aged 14 years as per international standards. For UAE females, obesity was 1.9-fold higher than the international standard. One-third of the university students in the UAE are obese or overweight, and this all starts in the later years of their school life. This article will shed light on the meaning of obesity, causes of obesity, obesity symptoms, and how obesity causes diabetes.

Obesity Meaning

Excessive fat accumulation in the human body can be the cause of other dangerous diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes, which is what obesity is. Obesity is measured by Body Mass Index (BMI), and a BMI value over 25 is considered overweight, and a BMI value over 30 is obese. Over 4 million people are dying each year just because they are overweight.

Causes of Obesity

There are several causes of obesity discussed in papers published by the medical writers at Assignment Help UAE. One of the main reasons is the sedentary lifestyle. Compared to the era of 1990, the young generation today hardly finds time to play or perform outdoor activities. The invention of mobile phones, video games, and online gaming let them stick to one place for a long period of time. Even the studies are getting online, which halts their physical activities, which students used to perform while traveling or participating in school or college activities.

Unhealthy diets are one of the other main reasons for obesity in schoolchildren. Obesity is caused by excessive consumption of junk food, as per the research in the UAE. The increased risk of excess weight is due to unhealthy eating, overeating, and the consumption of high-fat foods. Especially foods with trans-fat are dangerous because it's hard to get rid of the excessive calories gained by such foods. It's not difficult to observe that in the UAE, every 8th student out of 10 consumes junk food, such as fast food, bakery items, and sugary drinks. The restaurants in the UAE are selling food with processed ingredients with saturated fats, preservatives, and hydrogenated oil over traditional foods. Also, infant obesity is on the rise because of fried food and food with excessive sugars.

Obesity Symptoms

It is important to know the childhood obesity symptoms to identify obesity on time. Children with obesity are intolerant to heat, and they also have excessive sweating. Obese children of obese people feel hot even in cold weather sometimes. As it is harder to carry excessive weight than what is bearable to them, they have joints and back pain. Fatigue and depression are another noticiable symptom that needs immediate attention in obese children. Due to obesity, children lack physical activities, and their energy is drained quickly which also impacts productivity. Obese people also feel shortness of breath, especially when they perform a little physical activity.

Parents should take care of their children if they notice consistent complaints in their children's knees, hips, or ankles, snoring or long pauses while snoring, poor physical endurance, swelling or accumulation of fluid, and they are less active as compared to their colleagues or friends. In addition, every parent should keep on checking the BMI of their children to stop them from reaching a BMI score of 25 or more. Early precautions and a healthy diet can help children to perform better in their studies, and mental and physical health.

What are the impacts of Childhood obesity?

In the national plan to combat childhood obesity by the United Arab Emirates, the concerns have been raised regarding the growing health issues among children due to obesity. Responding to the increase in obesity, the director-general of the World Health organization established a high-level commission in 2014 on ending childhood obesity. This problem was addressed decade ago because obesity started impacting children health, and quality of life. Obesity comes with many health complications, such as, unbearable obesity into adulthood, several health complications, premature onset of illnesses, and increased risk of noncommunicable disease. Moreover, childhood obesity can lead to heart disease, various kind of cancers, osteoarthritis, stroke, and diabetes (type 2).

The Early Preventive Measure for obesity in UAE Children

Young children are the youth of any country; therefore, it is important to take early preventive measures to save them from diabetes. According to essay writing services UAE, some measures include increasing physical activity among UAE schoolchildren. It can be done by organizing sports events or weekly sports matches that will assist them in performing physical activities. The parents should also exercise and walk and instruct their children to do so. Children should be fined or penalized for smoking and should be instructed on eating a healthy diet. A parent should monitor their children's diet at an early age and should build habits of healthy eating from their infant age.

 

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