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academies
March 07-09, 2019 | London, UK
2nd International Conference on
7th International Conference on
Food Safety and Hygiene
Nutrition, Food Science and Technology
Joint Event
&
Journal of Food Technology and Preservation | Volume 3
Obesity and overweight among Arab population in Middle East
Bowirrat Abdalla
An-Najah National University, Israel
At the time that one third of the globe populations still
suffers poverty and under-nutrition; two third are
struggling against overindulge foodswhich lead tooverweight
and obesity, where these observable facts kill more people
than malnourished and underweight population. Obesity
and overweight are an important adaptable risk factor for
many chronic diseases and are the fifth leading risk for global
deaths. The World Health Organization predicts there will be
2.5 billion overweight adults in the world by 2017 and more
than 750 million of them will be obese. Epidemiological
studies of obesity in the Mediterranean basin were limited,
particularly for Arab population. Nevertheless, the effects
of overweight and obesity are widely documented as one
of the recent leading Arab health challenges. Indeed, many
efforts have been made to stress the role of cultural attitudes
that may underlie the high prevalence of obesity among
Arab population. Historically, bread is the main staple in the
Arab’s diet and consumed widely. Decades ago bread was
homemade by whole-wheat flour, today the consumed bread
is almost store-bought or commercially produced white-flour
bread. Indeed, this is one of many examples that describes
the transition from traditional diet to the modern lifestyle
characterized by low fibers and high fat dietary patterns. In
fact, Arab community has undergone major transitions in
lifestyle-from agricultural to predominantly urban lifestyle.
The transition was primarily influenced by changes in
the modernization, westernization and socioeconomic
status. Adopting less healthy dietary patterns, such as high
carbohydrates, low fiber and high fat diet consumption, in
addition to relinquishing the Mediterranean diet have been
the main reasons of overweight and obesity among Arab
population in Middle East.
Speaker Biography
Bowirrat Abdalla has completed his MD from Rome University, his residency in clinical
neurology from London University, UK, his PhD from Tel-Aviv University, Israel and
postdoctoral studies from Boston University, USA. He received his Professorship from
Boston University. He has published more than 120 manuscripts and 6 books in reputed
journals and has been serving as an editorial board member of repute. Furthermore,
he received many international awards including the Bruce S. Schoenberg international
award in Neuroepidemiology of AD from the American Academy of Neurology.
e:
Bowirrat Abdalla, J Food Technol Pres, Volume 3
DOI: 10.4066/2591-796X-C1-005