New report reveals over 45% of Saudi nationals are overweight

According to newly released 2024 Health Determinants Statistics Publication from Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT), 45.1% of Saudis aged 15 and older are classified as overweight and 23.1% as obese.

The report highlights a growing public health challenge with the statistics extended to children as well, revealing that 33.3% of Saudis aged between 2 and 14 are overweight, while 14.6% are obese.

The report also spotlighted poor dietary practices, finding that only 10.2% of adults consume the recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables — at least five servings.

Most adults, 84.8%, reported consuming between one and four servings daily, while 5% reported no daily intake at all.

The publication, based on self-reported data, the National Health Survey, the Woman and Child Health Survey for 2024, and population estimates, offers a snapshot of Saudi Arabia’s health landscape.

The high rates of obesity and inadequate dietary habits underline the need for enhanced public health initiatives. Experts suggest promoting awareness about healthy lifestyles, increasing access to nutritious food options, and implementing community programs to encourage physical activity and balanced diets.

The findings come as Saudi Arabia pursues ambitious goals under Vision 2030, emphasising the importance of improving public health and wellbeing across all age groups.

The GASTAT report follows on from a paper published in ‘Frontiers in Public Health’ in 2023 on obesity prevalence, physical activity, and dietary practices among adults in the Makkah region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The survey was accomplished between November 2021 and March 2022.

A total of 2,115 people [1,238 (58.5%) women and 877 (41.5%) men] participated in this survey. Being overweight was prevalent in 32.8% of the population (41% of men and 28.9% of women), obesity was prevalent in 23% of the population (males 23.1% and females 24.2%). Obese people consumed more soft drinks, and overweight people did not consume enough vegetables (fresh/cooked). Obese people consumed fast food (e.g., burgers, sausage, pizza, or Arabic shawarma) over three times each week. The mean (SD) number of days of practice walking was 2.51 (2.05) vs. 1.3 (1.87) (p < 0.001) for lean and obese individuals, respectively. In addition, individuals with normal BMI had more days of jogging, moderate and high-intensity exercise, dancing, and strength training than those with obesity.

However, it is not just Saudi nationals that are increasingly becoming obese. The following key facts were published by the World Health Organization on 1st March 2024:

• In 2022, 1 in 8 people in the world were living with obesity.

• Worldwide adult obesity has more than doubled since 1990, and adolescent obesity has quadrupled.

• In 2022, 2.5 billion adults (18 years and older) were overweight. Of these, 890 million were living with obesity.

• In 2022, 43% of adults aged 18 years and over were overweight and 16% were living with obesity.

• In 2022, 37 million children under the age of 5 were overweight.

• Over 390 million children and adolescents aged 5–19 years were overweight in 2022, including 160 million who were living with obesity.

Image. Obese Person. Credit: pexels towfiqu barbhuiya