Overweight and Obesity in Saudi Arabia

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FIGURE 2.3

Crude prevalence of overweight and obesity among Saudi Arabian children ages 5–9 years, by sex, 1975–2016 40 35 25 20 15 10 5 0

19 7 19 5 7 19 6 7 19 7 7 19 8 7 19 9 8 19 0 8 19 1 8 19 2 8 19 3 8 19 4 8 19 5 8 19 6 8 19 7 8 19 8 8 19 9 9 19 0 9 19 1 9 19 2 93 19 9 19 4 9 19 5 9 19 6 9 19 7 9 19 8 9 20 9 00 20 0 20 1 0 20 2 0 20 3 04 20 0 20 5 0 20 6 0 20 7 0 20 8 0 20 9 1 20 0 1 20 1 1 20 2 1 20 3 1 20 4 1 20 5 16

Percent

30

Both genders (overweight) Both genders (obesity)

Women (overweight) Women (obesity)

Men (overweight) Men (obesity)

Source: WHO 2020. Note: Crude prevalence is calculated as the percentage of a defined population with a BMI greater than 1 (overweight) or 2 (obesity) standard deviations above the median according to the World Health Organization’s child growth standards. The prevalence of overweight is sum of the prevalence of obesity and the prevalence of overweight.

15.4 percent among girls 5–9 years of age in 2016 and confirmed that boys in Saudi Arabia have a significantly higher BMI than girls (Al-Agha and Mahjoub 2018; Al-Hazzaa et al. 2020). The prevalence of both overweight and obesity is rising among children and adolescents ages 10–19 years. The crude prevalence of overweight among children and adolescents ages 10–19 years was 35.1 percent, while obesity was 16.7 percent in 2016 (figure 2.4). Mean BMI increased by 5.7 percent among children between 2000 and 2016. Overweight and obesity rates were higher and increased faster among male than female children and adolescents ages 10–19 years. The historical data illustrate that the sex gap in overweight prevalence reversed early in the 2000s; the prevalence is now higher among males than females. The crude prevalence of obesity reached 19.0 percent in male and 13.6 percent in female children and adolescents in 2016. Recent cross-sectional studies found an even higher prevalence of obesity of 17.6–20.2 p ercent among schoolchildren (Al-Hussaini et al. 2019) and 27.0 percent among male adolescents (Alazzeh et al. 2018), confirming that male adolescents have significantly higher BMI than female adolescents in Saudi Arabia (Al-Hazzaa and Albawardi 2019). The proportion of adolescents having a waist-to-height ratio above 0.50 was 33.1 percent, with significant differences between male (36.0 p ercent) and female adolescents (30.3 percent) (Al-Hazzaa and Albawardi 2019).

Obesity in overweight population Among all age groups, the prevalence of obesity is continuously increasing in the overweight population of Saudi Arabia. There are more and more people with obesity in the overweight population of Saudi Arabia (figure 2.5). The prevalence of adults with obesity has surpassed half of the population of adults with a BMI of 25 kg/m2 or higher. The same applies for the population of children

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Overweight and Obesity in Saudi Arabia

Published on Jul 27, 2022

World Bank Publications

Overweight and obesity constitute a major global epidemic that has grown substantially. They are particularly alarming in Saudi Arabia, where more than half of the adult population is overweight and one out of five people are obese. Additionally, the prevalence of all noncommunicable diseases (NCDs)--such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancers--has increased substantially in recent decades, and today they are the leading cause of disability and death in the country. While the causes of overweight and obesity are complex and numerous, several innovative and multisectoral evidence-based interventions are emerging globally. Saudi Arabia has already embarked on the design and implementation of several such interventions and is committed to further expanding and scaling up such efforts in order to meet national goals and achieve results. This book builds on this work by laying out the remaining challenges while highlighting the opportunities lying ahead. The book provides new evidence and analysis on ob

Articles inside

Overweight and Obesity in Saudi Arabia

Articles inside

8A.5 Example of UK multiple traffic light front-of-package labeling

Annex 8A: Case studies of countries with integrated and systems-based strategies Annex 8B: Examples of applied or recommended nutrient

8.7 Stage 2: Increase the intake of healthy foods in Saudi Arabia 8A.2 Complete set of black seal labels that might be applied on front-of-package

8A.3 Example of campaign among public health advocates in support of Mexico’s front-of-package labeling regulation 8A.4 Example of cereal before (left) and after (right) Chile’s food labeling and

labeling for Mexico based on product characteristics

marketing law

8A.1 Example of campaign material by advocates for the sugar-sweetened beverages tax to fund drinking fountains in schools

Applying a Saudi-specific NPM for transforming the food system

8.6 Stage 1: Reduce the intake of unhealthy foods in Saudi Arabia

approaches

in Saudi Arabia and Chile

References

healthy diets

per capita per day), 2010–19

products

Conclusions

reformulation in Saudi Arabia

7.5 Saudi Arabia’s voluntary traffic light label, 2018

7A.2 Examples of different tax designs and evidence on their effectiveness

Key lessons learned from global experiences

7.3 Trends in carbonated drink volume per capita sales (liters), 2010–18

Obesity-prevention policies and their effectiveness evidence

References

of COVID-19

Conclusions

Summary and conclusions

The impact of obesity on COVID-19

References

Estimating the economic burden using the economic growth approach method

Estimating the economic burden using the value-of-a-statistical-life method

obesity

method

Annex 4B: Supplementary details for intervention assumptions

5.2 Direct medical costs attributable to overweight

Key messages

Results

risk factors

Methods

References

and obesity

References

Socioeconomic and cultural influences

Dietary behaviors contributing to overweight and obesity Physical inactivity as a risk factor in the development of overweight

ages 5–9 years, by sex, 1975–2016

2 Engagement of men and women in sufficient physical activity in