News May

Exercise a Challenge for Saudi Women

Under their modest flowing robes, two-thirds of Saudi women are too fat. They can try dieting, but you won't find many in aerobics classes or power-walking along this city's walking trails. And very few of their daughters attend schools that have physical education classes.

There are no laws against women exercising outside their homes, but in this conservative society many are influenced by scholars and clerics who argue against it.

In Riyadh, hotel gyms and pools are off limits to women. Along the city's walking trails, where the women walk covered in the mandatory black cloaks, they are sometimes harassed by the muttawa.

Rana al-Abdullah said one such official ordered her to go back to her car when she was out walking one day and wouldn't leave her alone until she did. She now walks in malls.

Many Saudis say they are baffled by the religious arguments.

At a clinic that treats obesity-related diseases, a booklet left by a writer named Muhammad al-Habdan, warned that if girls' schools began P.E., Saudi girls would have to change into workout gear — and good girls should not disrobe outside their homes. Changing in a locker room might cause them to lose the shyness that is the hallmark of good morals, the booklet warned.

It went on to say that the girls might become attracted to each other after seeing their classmates in tight leotards and tops.

Changing such attitudes has become the goal of many health-conscious women who are alarmed about the rising rate of obesity in their country.

About 52 percent of Saudi Arabia's men and 66 percent of women are either obese or overweight, according to Saudi press reports. Among adolescents the rate is 18 percent and in preschoolers over 15 percent.

Health officials blame the plush, oil-fueled Saudi lifestyle for the expanding waistlines. As Saudis have become richer, they have abandoned fiber-rich meals for fast food and meat-based dishes. They have brought in millions of Asian workers to do manual jobs. And they are addicted to technology that encourages staying at home in front of a computer or the TV.

"We're a very affluent society, so we have the luxury not to have to move," said Yasmin al-Tuwaijri, an epidemiologist who studies the obesity epidemic at a leading Riyadh hospital.

Mindful of the dangers of obesity, the government is trying to educate its citizens about obesity and the diseases related to it. Almost daily, Saudi newspapers, which are government-guided, carry tips on healthy eating and exercise. The Health Ministry and a women's charity, Al-Nahda Philanthropic Society for Women, are spearheading campaigns to encourage Saudis to start moving.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060519