?Dr.Khalid Madani (second left), a consultant and clinical nutritionist, was invited by Al-Esayi Group for household appliances to offer a lecture on healthy eating habits and obesity prevention. — Courtesy photos ? Amal Al-Sibai Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Ramadan is a blessed time, a time of families uniting, of becoming closer to Allah and of generosity, but unfortunately due to unhealthy practices, Ramadan has also become a time of weight gain. To help our community avoid the infamous Ramadan bulge this year, Al-Esayi household appliances group held a seminar and invited the renowned clinical nutritionist and vice-president of the Saudi Society of Food and Nutrition, Dr. Khalid Madani. The event aimed at increasing awareness about healthy eating habits. Obesity is not simply an undesirable physical appearance and lack of fitness; it is a life-threatening condition. Obesity is defined as an excess of body fat that results in morbidity and may result in mortality. As defined by Dr. Madani, he said that obesity is the door that leads to almost all non-communicative degenerative diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, gall stones, arthritis, cancer, respiratory diseases, and high blood pressure.
“Obesity is the root cause of a host of health problems and it is not just the serious well-know problems such as heart disease. Obesity can even cause arthritis because carrying around all that extra weight puts immense pressure on the joints,” said Madani. In the US the number one cause of death is heart disease, which is directly linked to obesity. Of the top nine leading causes of death in the US, five illnesses are related to obesity. The rate of obesity in a nation reflects the overall health of that nation. Statistics in the Kingdom show that the incidence of obesity in the Kingdom is disturbingly increasing among adults and children. Dr. Madani reported that the incidence of obesity among school boys between the ages of 6 and 14 has multiplied seven times from 1988 to 2011. Dr. Madani attributes this rise in obesity in the Kingdom to the typical Saudi lifestyle, and poor diet paired with a sedentary lifestyle. “Genetics may be one factor, but the main causes of obesity are lack of physical exercise, a diet high in calories and fat, and other lifestyle habits. “Genetics loads the gun, the environment pulls the trigger. Eating too much and eating the wrong kinds of food causes weight gain, for example rich, fatty meats, fried foods, sugar,” said Madani. The best way to lose weight before resorting to weight loss medications or even thinking of surgery is by following a low-calorie, low-fat diet, exercising regularly, and making some lifestyle habits. Nutritionists guarantee success by persistently sticking to these three essential steps: diet, exercise, and lifestyle changes. As for diet, Dr. Madani mentioned 10 recommendations: follow a balanced diet of carbohydrates, proteins, and fat; eat less; avoid the over-sized portions when eating out; eat more fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains; reduce fat in your diet by minimizing the use of butter, oils, and red meats; switch from full fat milk and dairy products to low-fat or non-fat; eat more high fiber foods; drink more water; watch out for sodium; and cut back on cakes, cookies, ice cream, dough-nuts, fatty meats, sausages, and sweetened drinks. A common problem in Saudi society is that most people think that healthy foods have to be boiled, bland, and tasteless. Possibly due to their own incorrect cooking methods when following a healthy diet, low-fat foods taste terrible. “One way to reduce fat in the diet while preserving the taste and flavor of the foods is to use creative cooking methods. Advances in technology gave way to innovative cooking appliances that enable you to prepare foods that taste great, while using less than half the amount of fat you would normally use. “In Tefal Actifry, you can cook one kilogram of potato wedges with only a tablespoon of oil and you will have crispy, delicious French fries-only they're not really fried. One tablespoon as opposed to more than a cup of oil to deep fry the potatoes is a sharp reduction in fat and this will definitely have positive results with weight loss and improving health,” said Madani. Ramadan foods are notorious for being high in fat, and learning new cooking methods may help to make this Ramadan a healthier one. Rather than deep-frying which makes the food soak up too much fat, you can put anything in the Actifry: chicken nuggets, sambusa, kibbeh, potato wedges, shrimp, fish fillet, vegetable slices coated with breadcrumbs. Dr. Madani advises keeping the suhoor meal light: fruits, boiled egg, fava beans, yogurt and a slice of whole wheat bread. Avoid elaborate cooked meals such as rice and chicken or pasta during the suhoor because eating such foods and then sleeping causes weight gain and indigestion.
