Saudi Arabia ranks 21 among the world’s ‘fattest’ countries

Laura Bashraheel
Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — The average weight of an adult in Saudi Arabia is 160.14 lb approximately, or 72.91 kg, which makes it rank 21 in the world’s fattest countries, according to a league table of the world’s “fattest” nations from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the Daily Telegraph reported. The average weight of an adult human is 137 pounds, or 62 kg according to a study published in the journal BMC Public Health, which was launched on Monday at the United Nations conference Rio+20. It highlights the problem of obesity in relation to the environment.

Despite Saudi Arabia ranking 21, which is considerably high, a Kuwaiti average adult weighs 171.5 lb which makes it rank number five in the world, making it the highest among Gulf and Arab countries. The pacific island nations of Micronesia and Tonga are at the top of the league table, followed closely by the US on number 3 where the average adult weighs 180.62 pounds, or 81.93 kg. The article also stated that the US makes up only five per cent of the world’s population. It accounts for almost a third of the world’s weight due to obesity. In comparison, Asia has 61 per cent of the world’s people, but only 13 per cent of the world’s weight.

In other countries like Qatar, the average weight of a person is 169.46 lb making it rank at number 8, UAE at number 11 with the average weight of a person being 166.52 lb, Egypt at number 14 with the average weight being 163.74 lb and Bahrain at number 17 with the average weight of a person being 162.15 lb.