The fast food culture and the inactive lifestyle have led to serious health issues in the UAE. (Sammy Dallal/The National)
The fast food culture and the inactive lifestyle have led to serious health issues in the UAE. (Sammy Dallal/The National)

Opinion

More efforts are needed to tackle diabetes

Efforts are needed on parts of parents and the community to inculcate healthy habits among children

The International Diabetes Federation's data on the prevalence of the disease in the region is staggering. As The National reported yesterday, there are 37 million diabetics in the Middle East and North Africa, of which 803,900 are in the UAE, making up about 19 per cent of the country's population.

The problem has been increasing as the country develops. Dr Habiba Al Safar, an Emirati researcher who has been looking for a genetic link to diabetes among Emiratis, told this paper that the problem did not exist in the region 30 years ago. Changing lifestyle, especially in the Gulf, is largely responsible for the spread of the disease. GCC countries – with the exception of Oman – made it to the top five in the Diabetes 2014 Atlas in terms of prevalence of the disease in the region. What is more striking is that nearly 40 per cent (327,000) of diabetics in the UAE are unaware that they have the disease, although a lot of effort has been made to promote awareness. One major reason could be because children make a large percentage of diabetics in this country. Even Type 2 diabetes, which is normally associated with obese adults, is affecting children as young as six. Key among the causes of this are fast food and sedentary lifestyles.

What can be done? It should not be down to the government to introduce laws to encourage better habits. That is not its job. Instead, it requires every individual in the community to take responsibility, particularly parents who can inculcate healthy habits among children by influencing their diets and encouraging them to live a more active lifestyle. According to the International Diabetes Federation, healthier lifestyles can prevent up to 70 per cent of Type 2 diabetes cases.

Access to healthy food has been increasing in the UAE, where some fast-food outlets are offering more wholesome options. Dubai and Abu Dhabi also have plenty of gyms and sports facilities that cater to every community. Even moderate changes in lifestyle – better diets and light exercise – can garner relatively big rewards. Obesity trends can be reversed, as Mohammed Al Dhubaibat, has shown. The Emirati communications executive, who once weighed 196kg, told this newspaper how he transformed his life by changing his lifestyle. Obesity and diabetes can be reversed, but only with hard work.

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Wednesday April 24: Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship, 11am-6pm

Thursday April 25:  Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship, 11am-5pm

Friday April 26: Finals, 3-6pm

Saturday April 27: Awards ceremony, 4pm and 8pm

Results

Stage 5:

1. Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) Team Jumbo-Visma  04:19:08

2. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates  00:00:03

3. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers

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5. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep 00:00:06

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As You Were

Liam Gallagher

(Warner Bros)

While you're here
Essentials

The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Los Angeles, from Dh4,975 return, including taxes. The flight time is 16 hours. Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Aeromexico and Southwest all fly direct from Los Angeles to San Jose del Cabo from Dh1,243 return, including taxes. The flight time is two-and-a-half hours.

The trip
Lindblad Expeditions National Geographic’s eight-day Whales Wilderness itinerary costs from US$6,190 (Dh22,736) per person, twin share, including meals, accommodation and excursions, with departures in March and April 2018.

 

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Specs
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