Themes

Lifestyle and dietary

Adolescent boys and girls were studied for at least two weeks on their feeding habits, for this period, females were observed to consume more snacks than male in that males could only consume snacks once a fortnight unlike their female counterparts who for the 14 days averagely took snacks at least 12 days. For the consumption of rice, bread, nuts and fish the percentage of females consuming this surpassed that of men i.e. 54.8 to 50.5%, this shows that females consumes more food products that are energy giving than males in Saudi Arabia leading to deposition of more calories in the body triggering obesity as it is supposed that the body can not convert the whole chunk of calories. More so in view of the frequency of consumption, this leads to obesity.

Health Education

There are several ways in which obesity can be prevented i.e. primary and secondary methods. The primary preventive measures aims at avoiding one becoming obese and is always used for children. On the other hand secondary prevention measures are those that are used to reduce the excessive weights and to lower the increasing increase in weights. The first measure that can be taken to reduce the prevalence of obesity is by changing our lifestyle. As earlier observed, one of the causes of obesity is the consumption of fast foods that contain a lot of fats. The population must thus be advised on the need to change their feeding habits and consume that with low fat level (Seidell, 2000). Physical exercise is also a way of reducing the prevalence of obesity. Those who participate in physical exercise like sports and other activities like walking, running, cycling use public transport are not prone to the menace.

Gender inequality

The same period was taken to establish the level of engagement of females and males in the extra curriculum activities. This is because physical activities burn calories and can significantly reduce the occurrence of obesity for those who engage in them. It was established that about 30.4% of men took at least 3 hours in front of a television. For the females more than half, 54.6 did the same. Again on other factors, 25.7% of boys and 42.9% of girls did not involve themselves in any physical exercise that lasted for at least 30 minutes. This indicates that more females do not strive to burn their calories despite the heavy consumption of foods rich in high calories supply. I t is notable that in the last week, 31.1% of boys did not do any physical exercise while for the ladies none engaged. It is partially attributed to cultural reasons that barred females from such activities. From the findings obtained, two major factors make females vulnerable for the acquisition of obesity, unlike in men, that is; eating habit and engagement in the physical education. It is compounded by the fact that cultural factors compromise the fight against obesity. According to these findings, females are prone to obesity on grounds that can be checked. Most ladies tend to lead a sedentary life characterized with handling house hold chores at the expense of doing other outdoor responsibilities including physical exercise. This kind of life style has precipitated to some level that it might be hard to change. Females here are also seen as people who like watching television programmes and remain inactive for most of the time. Moreover females have reduced their participation in social events which as a result has made them more vulnerable. Few female participate in community based activities and social services hence this makes them less inactive.The fact that reasons for the increased prevalence of obesity amongst females is now under stood; it calls for concerted efforts to ensure that the recommendations in this paper are followed to the latter to help curb the looming menace. Otherwise the country will not only incur the cost of medication but will also do for the importation of man power as the growing rate of obesity will impact negatively in the manpower availability.

Empowerment and Collaboration

Upon realizing the health hazards the adolescents are exposed to, the Saudi Arabia government has devised methods to check on the trend. To the effect that most of the females are known to have a poor eating habit, the government has initiated public education on healthy eating habits. This is done even in institution like schools, colleges and universities (Binhemd,...

This approach of combating obesity is deemed very effective as most of the obese population is the teenagers in schools. Parents are also advised to expose their young children on diets that are not harmful to their health as far as obesity is concerned; this is after realization that there is nexus between childhood obesity and adulthood obesity. The action is seen to avert possible connection on the two age differences.
Sedentary life has been the major reason for the massive spread of the obesity among the females. They are now advised to engage in activities that will help them get rid of the excess accumulation of calories in their bodies. The government is also fighting the deeply rooted cultural beliefs associated with females leading to their practicing of a docile life (Qauhiz, 2010). The government efforts are also aimed in dispelling the stigma associated with female in public recreation places like swimming pools as this are the possible areas where weight loss can be done. There have also been a lot of researches carried out by the government to help them know areas where more efforts can be directed in fighting the obesity menace. The researchers are funded by the government and the medication that manages obesity are also budgeted by the government and this is the area that make the government spend a lot of funds in that would otherwise be used in other development in the country. For instance, in one year alone the government spends close to 75 billion U.S. dollars. This is in addition to loss of human resource that becomes ineffective following onset of obesity (Al-Shammari, Khoja, & Al-Subaie, 1994). If women are empowered and given rights to election, they will experience improved health outcomes. The girls will be able to participate in sports while at home and at school and this would lower the obesity prevalence among them. The government should also empower research bodies as well as collaborate with them in finding the best possible way of reducing the prevalence rate of obesity among girls in Saudi Arabia.

Impact of obesity on the individual

As has been earlier stated, obesity results into many other dangerous diseases. Some of these diseases include high blood pressure, stroke, type II diabetes and even cancer. The latter is caused by uneven or abnormal growth in body tissues that is uncontrollable or the spread to other parts e.g. abnormal growth of the colon. Stroke is caused when the supply of blood to the brain is tampered with or in instances that the blood vessels that supply to the brain burst. Other diseases that arise from obese are coronary artery disease which affects the heart. These serious diseases have led to the deaths of many individuals across the globe and it is therefore prudent for any country to look into ways of reducing their expenditure towards these diseases.

There are also various social effects when one becomes obese. For example, those who are obese have been discriminated against and stigmatized in the society. This exclusion has caused social esteem problem. Children who are obese have also been bullied and unfairly treated by their colleagues in studying institutions leading to poor performance in their academics (Keleher & MacDougall, 2009).

Discussions

As defined earlier obesity is results when the body is given in terms of food more calories than it can actually manage. This would mean that more fats are deposited in the body leading to enormous increase in the body mass. It is also important to note that obesity is not just defined in the total mass of the body. The body mass is looked into in relation to the height of the body, in this way we are talking about the Body Mass Index (BMI), this is the ratio of the body mass and the height of the body. It is calculated by dividing the mass of the body (in kilograms, Kg.) by the height of the body in meters square (m2) and thus the SI unit is Kg/M2. The results obtained in the calculation of the BMI can fall in to four categories; below 18.5; this implies that the body is underfed and the person is construed to be malnourished. This in Saudi Arabia constitutes a lower figure (Ginsberg, jagendorf, Carmel, & Harries, 1981).

The Second possibility is to find the BMI falling between 18.5- 29.5 then it is construed that the person is normal. It implies that the person is neither underfed nor overfed and can be given a clean bill of…