By Azmat Haroon
Even as the culture of eating out is flourishing in Qatar, many people are opting for diet food to fight obesity.
Several dietary centres have opened in Qatar in recent years, apart from restaurants that serve diet food. Such food generally comprises natural food products that are low in calories.
Some diet centres do home delivery of low-calorie food — a service availed by those wanting to lose weight. A monthly contract with these diet centres usually costs QR 3,000 or more, and includes three meals a day.
Many people are criticising these diet centres and restaurants saying that the meals they serve do not help one lose weight. Some even allege that these centres and some restaurants are exploiting people by charging them much more than the value of the diet food they serve.
“Some restaurants are useless. They serve diet meals without any consultation with dieticians. They cheat people and blatantly rip them off because the diet meals they serve are expensive and not even healthy,” said Mohammad Al Muraikhi.
Apart from the high price, another common complaint about the diet food served at these restaurants is that it is unappetising.
Some people have called on the Consumer Protection Department and the Supreme Council of Health to look into the kind of food served by diet centres in the country.
Health experts, however, say the problem does not necessarily lie with diet food but with physical inactivity.
The culture and lifestyle of a significant number of people in Qatar is such that it does not promote physical activity, resulting in serious health problems, argues Parag Parelkar, an exercise physiologist.
“Obesity, which is linked to a number of dangerous health problems, including diabetes and heart diseases, continues to grow exponentially among Qataris as well as expatriates,” said Parelkar.
He says physical activity, a healthy diet and stress management are the three core elements of a healthy life.
“Most people, especially Arabs, just sit at their homes and eat while watching television. That’s relaxation. People do not move, and if they continue doing that, the fat gets deeper in the body,” said a gym instructor, who did not want to be identified.
She said many young girls who came to the gym, especially Qataris, weighed more than 110 kilos. This was mostly because the type of food people ate in Qatar was very high in fat, which resulted in high water and sugar content in their bodies, she said.
She said most people came to the gym seeking quick results, not realising that it took time before bodies adapted to a change in lifestyle. “If they don’t start losing weight in a month or so, they lose focus, and eventually give up on exercising, which is actually more dangerous.
“Our appetite also tends to increase when we start exercising, which is why it is all the more important for people to be careful about what they eat,” she added.
With the number of eateries increasing in the country, the culture of eating out is also spreading.
Parelkar argues that eating out is not harmful in itself; what’s dangerous is the kind of food people eat.
A regular steak served with mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables is a potentially wholesome meal. It becomes unhealthy only when people do not move their bodies after having such high-calorie meals, he said.
On the other hand, Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi may be diet beverages technically, but they contain sweeteners and caffeine, which have no significant nutritional value, he pointed out.
Parelkar said he would not recommend having fast food even once a week. “I am against fast food chains because of the unethical treatment of animals and also because they pump animals with many growth supplements. If the animal you have is not healthy, it will not be good for you.”
He said cases of obesity, diabetes and heart diseases here were linked to the lifestyle of people in Qatar.
“This is what I call the camel-to-Cadillac generation. You see people driving up to grocery shops and ordering items without even stepping out of their vehicles. Losing weight is not just about diet food and going to the gym. You need to have an active lifestyle as well,” said Parelkar.
On the issue of diet centres, he said that if such centres had nutritionists approved by the government, they were likely helping people.
“People need to realise that if they do not exercise, and if they are not working their bodies, it is not going to be helpful.”
He said people needed to have a balanced diet and exercise not only to lose weight but keeping in mind the health benefits derived from exercise.
A nutritionist, who did not want her name in print, said diet plans could vary from one person to another because of their body types.
“The kind of diet people need to follow varies from person to person because our bodies are different. You need to know the blood type and other details before a diet plan can be prescribed to you. It largely depends on the types of food and nutrients your body needs,” she said.
Some say people in Qatar are gradually becoming more aware about their health and they have started going to gyms.
Ahmed Saleh, a local gym instructor, said that many Arabs, particularly Qataris, were realising the importance of exercising.
The number of gyms in the country has been increasing, which has made access to these facilities easier for many people.
“In recent months, many Qataris have registered at our gym. This is a new trend because we never saw people wanting to go to gyms for weight loss before. It was mostly men who wanted to increase their muscle mass that went to gyms,” Saleh said, without identifying the gym.
“Diet food is not necessarily healthy for everyone. People with weight issues also need to exercise,” said Abdullah Al Shamri, adding that dieticians should specify the food people should eat and not the restaurants that serve it.
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