Long partial to heavy lunch platters of meat and rice, Asim al-Shammari has recently turned to lighter fare from a self-described diet restaurant, swayed by Saudi Arabia’s push against obesity.
About one in five Saudi Arabian adults is obese, according to an in-depth study published by the World Bank last year that described the problem as “alarming”.
The Global Obesity Observatory places the kingdom at No. 17 in its international rankings of obesity prevalence, three slots below the US and near neighbors Qatar and Kuwait.
Photo: AFP
However, the Vision 2030 reform agenda spearheaded by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman includes goals for bringing down obesity and diabetes rates by the end of the decade.
The effort is being helped by a raft of new restaurants offering healthier alternatives to some traditional Saudi Arabian fare, including the spot where al-Shammari, a financial analyst, tucked into a plate of chicken, rice and carrots one recent afternoon.
“I used to eat burgers, shawarma or kabsa while I was at work,” the 28-year-old said, referring to a rice dish usually served on large shared plates. “This increased obesity, especially with eight-hour office work and lack of movement.”
Photo: AFP
For decades, Saudi Arabians spent much of their free time in restaurants and shopping malls, and food was a chief source of entertainment in the closed-off kingdom, where high temperatures limit outdoor activities for much of the year.
In 2019, the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health started requiring restaurants to include calorie information on menus to encourage healthy eating.
Fast food options — from international favorites such as McDonald’s to local chains such as AlBaik — remain ubiquitous in the kingdom’s main cities, but they are starting to face more varied competition.
Saad al-Hader, a 25-year-old doctor, said he used to bring meals from home in order to eat something besides junk food, but the proliferation of new health-conscious eateries has made his life easier.
“The popularity of these restaurants, and the fact that they are close to workplaces, makes it easier to stick to healthy eating,” he said as he dined on salmon and grilled potatoes.
A growing number of restaurants are offering meal plans that send salads and other healthy meals to clients’ homes and workplaces.
One such plan provides a meal a day for a month for 450 riyals (US$120).
Basil Chehayeb, a Lebanese who runs a restaurant called Reshape in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, said he had opened two new branches in the past 18 months to keep up with demand.
The restaurant provides meals each day to about 500 subscribers, most of whom are Saudi Arabians.
“Saudis have changed their lifestyle and are now attending sports clubs and eating healthy foods,” he said.
Efforts by restaurants and other private-sector businesses to promote healthy eating have been supplemented by other health-minded interventions.
The Saudi Sports for All Federation organizes regular events such as the Riyadh Marathon, which this year drew thousands of runners to the streets of the capital.
Officials have also begun work on a 135km Sports Boulevard in Riyadh, featuring foot, cycle and horse-riding paths.
Beginning with this academic year, the health ministry has banned the sale of soft drinks in schools.
The message seems to be getting through, at least among young people, public health consultant Lamia al-Brahim said.
“Obesity is a serious health problem, [but] it is very noticeable now that health awareness is increasing among the young generation,” she said. “Societal behavior changes need a long time, and these efforts start from within the home, then the school and then the government agencies.”
Apps and Web sites that use artificial intelligence (AI) to undress women in photos are soaring in popularity, researchers said. In September alone, 24 million people visited undressing Web sites, the social network analysis company Graphika said. Many of these undressing, or “nudify,” services use popular social networks for marketing, Graphika said. For instance, since the beginning of this year, the number of links advertising undressing apps increased more than 2,400 percent on social media, including on X and Reddit, the researchers said. The services use AI to recreate an image so that the person is nude. Many of the services only
IN ABSOLUTE CONTROL: About 80 percent of Russians approve of Putin, a survey shows, but that might be misleading due to his intolerance to criticism Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday moved to prolong his repressive and unyielding grip on Russia for at least another six years, announcing his candidacy in the presidential election in March that he is all but certain to win. Putin still commands wide support after nearly a quarter-century in power, despite starting an immensely costly war in Ukraine that has taken thousands of his people’s lives, provoked repeated attacks inside Russia — including one on the Kremlin itself — and corroded its aura of invincibility. A short-lived rebellion in June by mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin raised widespread speculation that Putin could be
TAKING STOCK: It was not yet clear how damaging the espionage, dating to 1981, has been, as authorities are still assessing the situation, the State Department said A former US ambassador to Bolivia has been arrested and charged with spying for Cuba over a 40-year span, the US Department of Justice announced on Monday, detailing a shock betrayal by a suspect who called the US “the enemy.” US Attorney General Merrick Garland laid out the allegations against Victor Manuel Rocha, a onetime member of the White House’s National Security Council now accused of using his positions within the government to support Cuba’s “clandestine intelligence-gathering mission” against the US. The charges against Rocha, 73, expose “one of the highest-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of the United States government by a foreign
As pro-EU parties prepare to take power in Poland, a new star has shot to fame: a parliament speaker whose wit has drawn thousands of new followers to the chamber’s social media channels. Polish Marshal of the Sejm Szymon Holownia is no stranger to a wide audience as a former TV personality who notably hosted the Polish edition of the Got Talent! franchise. The 47-year-old left show business for politics four years ago, and now enjoys the spotlight chairing plenary proceedings following his success in the Oct. 15 parliamentary elections. “Ladies and gentlemen, stock up on popcorn ... because I suspect there will
RSS