​Over 60 per cent of insured people in Oman are overweight: Study

Oman Wednesday 07/November/2018 12:36 PM
By: Times News Service
​Over 60 per cent of insured people in Oman are overweight: Study

Muscat: A total of 62 per cent of people insured in Oman are overweight, a new research has shown.

The study compiled by Oman Insurance Company (OIC), showed that a lack of physical activity, poor diet and bad lifestyle choices were to blame for 62 per cent of the insured population being overweight.

The study, which was conducted by a team at OIC, analysed more than 3,200 responses, which used a person’s body mass index (BMI) as the indicator.

Results showed that 66 per cent of Indians, 70 per cent of Pakistanis and 54 per cent of Filipinos were found to be overweight. Within the male population, 67 percent were overweight when compared to 59 per cent of overweight females.

A total of 19 per cent of people in the “healthy weight group and 27 per cent of people in the overweight group said that they didn't exercise for even 2.5 hours in a week.

“Knowing that a person is overweight is the first step to taking charge of one’s health,” said Dr Yasser Khalifa, head of medical insurance at OIC.

“Unfortunately, a majority of the overweight population are still unaware of their health condition as the survey revealed that only 20 per cent of the overweight respondents have been diagnosed by doctors. Being overweight is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases like stroke, diabetes and some cancers of the kidney and breast, among others. Apart from lack of physical activity, common causes of obesity include poor diet and overall lifestyle choices.”

However, while being overweight and/or obese may be an alarming health condition, 44 per cent of the overweight population said they felt good about themselves compared to 52 per cent of healthy people. Also, 62 per cent of overweight people said that they are satisfied with their lives when compared to 72 per cent of the healthy population, thereby showing a direct correlation between being overweight and self-image.

When asked if they were willing to change, 37 per cent of overweight people said that they had already taken charge of their weight, indicating that they wanted to become healthier.