Obesity in the Gulf: the numbers and what changed

In short

Gulf states consistently appear among the countries with the highest obesity rates globally, with more than a third of adults in several countries classified as obese.
The shift happened fast: within one generation, the region moved from food scarcity to calorie surplus, while car-dependent cities and extreme summer heat cut physical activity sharply.
Processed food, soft drinks and eating out all rose together as incomes grew, and each is independently linked to weight gain.
Weight is a medical issue shaped by biology, environment and circumstance, not a personal failing, and the research literature on Gulf populations now reflects that clearly.
Small, realistic changes to what you eat and how you move matter more than dramatic plans you cannot sustain.

What this article covers

How high are obesity rates in the Gulf, in real numbers?
Why did this happen so quickly?
What changed in the food supply?
Is obesity really a health risk, or is it mainly a cosmetic concern?
Why blaming willpower misses the point
What does useful change look like in a Gulf context?
What do Gulf governments and health systems offer?
What about weight loss medicines and supplements?

How high are obesity rates in the Gulf, in real numbers?

Among adults in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, obesity rates are among the highest recorded anywhere in the world. A widely cited review published in Obesity Reviews found that more than 35 percent of adults in Kuwait and more than 30 percent in Saudi Arabia and Qatar were classified as obese, meaning a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or above, with even higher proportions when overweight is included.

Those numbers are not stable, and they have been rising for decades. A 2011 systematic review covering all six GCC states found that overweight and obesity together affected between 60 and 70 percent of adults in most countries in the region, placing the Gulf alongside, and in some measures ahead of, the United States and Western Europe.

Women generally show higher obesity rates than men across the region, which reflects both biological factors and social ones, including patterns of physical activity that differ between men and women in these societies. Children and adolescents are following the same trend: a 2024 study of students in eastern Saudi Arabia found that lifestyle patterns linked to obesity were already well established in teenagers.

Adult obesity prevalence across Gulf states (approximate, BMI 30+)

Kuwait 37%

Saudi Arabia 35%

Qatar 33%

Bahrain 30%

UAE 28%

Oman 27%

Source: Ng SW et al, Obesity Reviews, 2011; WHO Global Health Observatory

Why did this happen so quickly?

The Gulf states went through an extraordinary economic transformation in less than two generations. Oil revenues turned largely agricultural or nomadic societies into some of the wealthiest urban economies in the world within a few decades. Food abundance, subsidised goods and imported high-calorie food options arrived together, and daily calorie intake rose sharply.

At the same time, the physical demands of daily life dropped almost to zero. Car use became universal as cities spread out with no meaningful provision for walking or cycling. Public spaces are air-conditioned interiors: malls, offices, homes. Between June and September, outdoor temperatures regularly exceed 45 degrees Celsius across much of the region, making outdoor exercise genuinely dangerous for much of the day. This is not laziness; it is a rational response to an environment where staying indoors is the safe choice. Urban planners built for cars, not for health, and changing that takes decades.

The 2019 study of Qatari adolescents, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, found that screen time and low physical activity levels were strongly associated with higher BMI, independent of diet. Similar patterns have been found in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait. The environment built around the car and the air-conditioned interior makes it structurally harder to be active than it was for the previous generation.

What changed in the food supply?

Traditional Gulf diets were centred on dates, fish, rice, small amounts of meat and fermented dairy. These are not the diets most people in the region eat today. Rising incomes, urbanisation and the arrival of fast-food chains from the 1980s onward shifted the pattern dramatically. Soft drink consumption in the Gulf is among the highest in the world. The average person in Saudi Arabia consumes more sugar per day than almost anywhere else.

A 2025 study of adults in the Aseer region of Saudi Arabia found that dietary patterns high in ultra-processed foods, sweetened beverages and refined carbohydrates were the strongest dietary predictors of obesity, ahead of total calorie intake alone. This is consistent with the global literature: ultra-processed food promotes overeating through poor satiety signalling, not simply because it contains more calories.

Eating out has also become far more common, and restaurant portions in the Gulf are large. Hospitality culture places strong social value on generous food, and declining food at a gathering carries social cost. These are real constraints, and any honest conversation about diet in this region has to acknowledge them rather than pretend they do not exist.

How Gulf food and activity patterns shifted across generations

1950s-1960s Traditional diet of fish, dates, rice, laban; walking and manual labour common
1970s-1980s Oil wealth; car ownership rises; first fast-food chains open; imported processed foods arrive
1990s-2000s Mall culture; air-conditioned indoor life; soft drink consumption surges; childhood obesity rises
2010s-2020s Delivery apps; ultra-processed food dominates; GCC governments launch national obesity strategies

Is obesity really a health risk, or is it mainly a cosmetic concern?

It is a genuine health risk, and the conditions it raises the risk of are ones that already place a major burden on Gulf health systems. Obesity is one of the strongest modifiable risk factors for type 2 diabetes, and the Gulf has some of the highest diabetes rates in the world. It also raises the risk of hypertension, fatty liver disease, obstructive sleep apnoea, certain cancers, and cardiovascular disease. The connections are not minor statistical associations: they are the mechanisms by which excess body fat directly stresses the heart, liver, pancreas and joints.

Joint pain, particularly in the knees and lower back, is another direct consequence of carrying excess body weight for years. This is a quality-of-life issue that affects daily function long before any blood test becomes abnormal. People who cannot walk comfortably also tend to move less, which compounds the problem over time. It is a cycle that can be broken, but it helps to start before the damage to the joints becomes irreversible.

None of this is meant to cause alarm or shame. The point is that weight is a clinical matter that deserves proper medical attention, the same way blood pressure or blood sugar does. It responds to treatment, and early intervention is more effective than waiting. A doctor who takes your weight seriously is not being unkind; they are doing their job.

Why blaming willpower misses the point

The fastest-rising obesity rates in the world have occurred in environments that changed rapidly, not in populations where willpower suddenly failed. Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia show this most clearly: the same populations that lived at normal weight in the 1960s now have obesity rates among the highest on earth. Their genetics did not change. Their environment did.

Research on the biology of obesity now shows clearly that body weight is regulated by hormones, gut bacteria, sleep quality, stress levels and dozens of other factors outside conscious control. The hormone leptin, which signals fullness to the brain, functions differently in people who are chronically stressed or sleep-deprived. Ultra-processed food is engineered to override satiety signals. These are not excuses; they are the mechanism.

This matters for how you approach change. A plan that treats obesity as a moral failure will not work, because it misidentifies the problem. A plan that makes the environment slightly easier to navigate, reduces ultra-processed food gradually, and builds small amounts of movement into daily life has a much better evidence base.

What does useful change look like in a Gulf context?

Outdoor exercise is genuinely limited from late May through September across most of the region. That is not an excuse to avoid the question; it is a constraint that any realistic plan has to work within. Indoor swimming pools, air-conditioned gyms and even walking in malls are used widely and count as real physical activity. Morning exercise before 8am or evening exercise after 7pm in the cooler months is both safe and pleasant in most Gulf cities.

On the food side, reducing soft drinks is one of the highest-return changes most people in this region can make. A single can of fizzy drink contains around 40 grams of sugar. Switching to water, laban (fermented milk), or unsweetened tea makes a measurable difference to daily calorie and sugar intake without requiring a complete diet overhaul.

Traditional Gulf foods are not the problem. Dates, which are often blamed, have a relatively low glycaemic impact when eaten in small quantities with protein or fat, as they traditionally were. Fish, which was the original Gulf protein, is excellent. The concern is the volume of ultra-processed food layered on top of traditional patterns, not the traditional food itself.

Practical starting points for weight management in the Gulf

1Replace one sugary drink per day with water, laban or unsweetened tea
2Walk 20 to 30 minutes in the morning before it is hot, or in a mall or gym
3Eat fish at least twice a week, as older Gulf diets did
4Reduce eating out to no more than three times per week where possible
5Ask your doctor to check fasting glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol at your next visit

What do Gulf governments and health systems offer?

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar have all launched national obesity strategies in the past decade, including food labelling laws, sugar taxes on soft drinks, public health campaigns and in some cases subsidised gym memberships. The Saudi Vision 2030 programme includes explicit physical activity targets for the population. These policies exist because the health burden of obesity on public healthcare systems is now very large.

Bariatric surgery is available across the region at both government and private hospitals, and Kuwait in particular has one of the highest per-capita bariatric surgery rates in the world, which reflects both the severity of the problem and the seriousness with which it is being treated medically. A 2017 paper in Obesity Surgery specifically called for more Gulf-based research to guide which procedures are most appropriate for Arab patients.

If you are seeking help, a physician who can review your weight, blood tests, blood pressure and any related conditions is the right starting point. Dietitians are available in most urban centres, and referral pathways to specialist weight management clinics exist in all GCC countries, though waiting times vary.

What about weight loss medicines and supplements?

A new class of medicines called GLP-1 receptor agonists, which includes semaglutide and liraglutide, has changed the treatment of obesity significantly. These drugs reduce appetite and slow stomach emptying, and clinical trials show they can produce 10 to 15 percent body weight loss on average. They are available in the Gulf, though they are expensive and not universally covered by insurance.

These are prescription medicines and require medical supervision. They are not appropriate for everyone, and they work best alongside changes to diet and physical activity rather than instead of them. Side effects, including nausea and gastrointestinal discomfort, are common in the early weeks.

Over-the-counter supplements marketed for weight loss, including those sold in pharmacies across the Gulf without prescription, have very limited evidence. Some contain stimulants or unregulated ingredients. None has been shown to produce meaningful, sustained weight loss in high-quality trials. If you are considering a supplement, discuss it with a doctor before buying it.

Tracking your weight, blood sugar and blood pressure together gives you a clearer picture than any single number. Sihtak lets you log these readings and see trends over time, so you can have a more informed conversation with your doctor at your next visit.

Frequently asked questions

What BMI counts as obese?

A BMI of 30 or above is the standard definition of obesity, and 25 to 29.9 is overweight. BMI is calculated from weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. It has limitations, particularly for people with a lot of muscle, but it is a useful screening tool. Some research suggests that metabolic risk in Arab and South Asian populations starts at a lower BMI than in European populations.

Is obesity genetic?

Genetics does contribute to how much weight a person tends to gain in a given environment, but the dramatic rise in Gulf obesity rates over two or three generations cannot be explained by genetics alone, because genes do not change that fast. The environment changed. Genetics sets a range; what you eat, how much you move and how much sleep you get all affect where within that range you end up.

Can I lose weight without exercise if the heat prevents it?

Yes. Diet changes have a larger impact on weight loss than exercise alone, though exercise is important for maintaining weight loss and for cardiovascular and metabolic health. If outdoor exercise is not safe for you in summer, indoor alternatives count fully. Walking in an air-conditioned space, swimming and home bodyweight exercise are all valid options.

Is bariatric surgery a safe option?

Bariatric surgery has a strong evidence base for people with BMI above 40, or above 35 with conditions such as diabetes or severe sleep apnoea. It produces the largest and most durable weight loss of any current treatment. It requires a full assessment by a specialist team and carries surgical risks like any major operation. The decision belongs between you and a qualified bariatric surgeon.

Does fasting in Ramadan help with weight loss?

It often does not produce lasting weight loss, because calorie intake across the non-fasting hours tends to compensate. Some people gain weight during Ramadan because the evening meals are large and high in refined carbohydrates and fried food. Using Ramadan to shift toward lighter, earlier evening meals and more sleep is a healthy adjustment that some people find easier to sustain than ordinary dieting.

What blood tests should I ask for if I am overweight?

Fasting glucose or HbA1c to screen for diabetes or prediabetes, a full lipid panel for cholesterol and triglycerides, liver enzymes (ALT and AST) to check for fatty liver, and blood pressure. Thyroid function (TSH) is sometimes low and can contribute to weight gain. Your doctor can decide which are appropriate for your age and history.

Are dates and rice really fattening?

In traditional portions, as part of a diet that also contains protein, vegetables and fibre, neither dates nor rice is the problem. The problem is total calorie intake and the proportion of ultra-processed food. Dates eaten with laban or nuts, and rice eaten with fish and salad, are nutritionally sound meals. It is the shift toward soft drinks, fast food and very large portions that drives weight gain in the Gulf.

Sources

This content is for health education only and is not a substitute for medical advice. If you have symptoms that worry you, see your doctor.