Obesity in Middle East

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region encompasses 18 countries at various levels of economic development – high-income (Qatar, Saudi Arabia), upper-middle-income (Jordan, Iraq), lower-middle-income (Egypt, Morocco), and low-income countries (Syria, Yemen). As in the rest of the world, rising obesity prevalence has also been documented in the MENA countries, with roughly one-fifth of the adult population in the region considered as obese. Against this background, this chapter: (i) documents the prevalence of obesity in the region (both, from the literature and official statistical sources); (ii) identifies the major correlates of obesity; and (iii) assesses and documents the literature that links obesity with some of the most prevalent noncommunicable diseases (inter alia, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases). We argue that the levels of obesity in the region are high and still increasing, with gender, age, income, education, nutrition patterns, and urbanization acting as the most prominent and robust correlates of obesity in the MENA region. The rates of child obesity are increasing, thus posing significant long-term health risks for the countries in the region. Finally, we argue that, in the context of MENA countries, there is robust link between obesity and certain chronic conditions (e.g., diabetes).