McDonald's is open 24/7 in Kuwait and most fast food places even deliver to your home. I took this shot off the highway while I was waiting to order some fries and a cold drink. It was during the summer where the temperature in Kuwait reaches over 135 degrees.
Fast-food-loving Kuwaitis fight fat with stomach stapling
Kuwait City, Kuwait (CNN), November 9, 2012 [Link]-- Thanks to its large reserves of oil, the small Gulf state of Kuwait has transformed over the decades from a humble pearl-farming backwater into one of the world's richest countries per capita.
But too much of a good thing, as many of Kuwait's 2.6 million inhabitants are discovering, can be problematic.
In recent years, Kuwaiti waistlines have swollen to make them among the most obese people on the planet. Nearly 70% of Kuwaiti males over 15 are overweight or obese, according to the World Health Organization. For women, the figures are even worse -- slightly over 80%.
Researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine recently placed Kuwait second only to the United States on a league table ranking countries by the amount of food they consumed per capita to sustain being overweight.
Kuwaitis: The world's fattest people?
The country's weight gain has led to an unprecedented rise in obesity-related health problems, including heart disease and diabetes. It's a phenomenon being reported in other Gulf countries -- several of Kuwait's neighbors also appear in the top 10, with Qatar coming in 4th, the United Arab Emirates 6th, and Bahrain 10th on the table.
Many attribute the weight problem to rapid changes in lifestyle propelled by oil revenues that have transformed Kuwait into prosperous modern consumer society.
"I think it started with Kuwait being a rich country," said fitness expert Yousef AlQanai, who was overweight himself until getting in shape eight years ago. "We have a lot of oil, so this transcends to how we live our lifestyles. It made our lives much easier. We don't have to work in order to survive."
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and here we find yet another hole.
ReplyDeleteA donut hole? :-)
DeleteCinnabons are better.
DeleteWith extra nuts! Love their pecans.
DeleteSure, bring em over I will put on some coffee (or tea)
DeleteIsn't it the culture to flaunt the size of their wealth by the size of their waist? But I found Kuwaitis to be hard working though, they don't have to work to survive but they work anyway. Fast food and fast women became the norm when supply is vast.
ReplyDeleteThat's a nice tourism slogan! Hehe...;)
DeleteThe officials in the Emirates and Qatar with their innate streak of megalomania in them are not going to be pleased reading Kuwait has outdone them in the global league table of obesity. I'd guess by now they would have a taskforce organized to ensure they beat Kuwait in every metric of adiposity and come out right on top of the league table.
ReplyDelete:) :)
Hehee! I think you might be right.
Delete