The Weight of Affluence: High Incomes and a Taste for Fast Food and Sugary Drinks Have Pushed Nationals of the United Arab Emirates into the Obesity Club. Michael Reid Reveals How the Government Is Tackling a Problem That Has Caused Cases of Diabetes to Skyrocket

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A multicultural field gathered at 07:00 for the start of the recent Abu Dhabi half marathon. Runners from Australia, Canada, France, India, South Africa and the United Kingdom, to name but a few of the countries represented, took their marks. Yet of the 306 runners who made it back to the Golf and Equestrian Club, not one was from the United Arab Emirates.

Chris Collier, from the Abu Dhabi Striders Club, which organizes the annual event, puts the absence of local entrants down to the lack of an exercise culture in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). "We're definitely not just a club for expats," Collier, an Englishman, explained. "We welcome all nationalities and in the past have given young Emiratis the chance to join us on our weekly runs, but we have had little response." He adds: "There is no culture of running here in the UAE. Why would you get willingly hot and bothered in this sort of heat?"

The low levels of exercise, along with a taste for fast foods laden with carbohydrates, salt, fat and processed sugar is cause for increasing concern about the nation's health. In 2000 the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that over 50% of men …