65% of Iraqis suffer overweight, 30% obesity

BASRA / IraqiNews.com: More than 30% of the Iraqi people are obese while 65% others are suffering from problems with their weight, revealed a specialized health workshop in Baghdad on Sunday. “This problem needs awareness-raising campaigns starting from schools, particularly on the facts that being overweight and obesity cause hypertension, diabetes, heart diseases, arteriosclerosis and cancer,” Dr. Qusai Abdullatif al-Aidaini, the Basra Health Department’s health enhancement director, told IraqiNews.com news agency. The five-day workshop, convened on January 24-28, is being organized by the Iraqi Health Ministry in tandem with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). “The event aims to hammer out a joint plan to change people’s behaviors particularly with regards to non-contagious diseases like diabetes, hypertension and osteoporosis,” Aidani added. AmR (P)/SR 1