According to a recent study by McKinsey Global Institute, the rate of obesity in the UAE is twice the world average. This manifests itself in a high rate of type 2 diabetes, a condition that hardly existed in this part of the world 40 years ago but now affects one in five of the population, and other life-threatening diseases. Obesity is clearly a major concern and, like other lifestyle-related issues, it is one best addressed in childhood. That is why we welcome the three-week residential "boot camps" for overweight children that are being held at the Etisalat Academy in Dubai this summer.
As The National reported this week, the camps aim to teach children the basics of a healthy diet and the importance of physical exercise. As dietician Rita Martins points out, it is not about the aesthetics of looking good but about avoiding the medical conditions that are associated with being overweight or obese. Much has been written about the pressure on young girls to be supermodel-thin, but boys, too, are influenced about body shape thanks to their big-screen diet of action men and superheroes with impossible abdominals. The truth is that we are all different. Conforming to a certain type is not important, but maintaining a healthy weight and level of fitness is. Diet certainly plays an important role – we should all minimise our intake of fast food and fizzy drinks, and keep an eye on serving sizes – but physical activity is the key to attaining and maintaining good health.
The immediate challenge for the children attending these summer camps, and for their families, is to maintain a healthy lifestyle once they return home. And the best message they can carry with them is that healthy living doesn’t have to be a chore – it can be great fun. Municipal authorities, schools and community groups can also play a role by providing indoor and outdoor play areas – from formal football pitches, basketball courts and the like to big, open spaces where children can simply let their imaginations run free. If the healthy living message gets through, boot camps for children will no longer be necessary.
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
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If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
