Tuesday, October 14, 2003
Monday, October 13, 2003
Dieting and Exercise Catch On Among Saudis, Expatriates
Waddle while you walk!
RIYADH, 13 October 2003 — With obesity in the Kingdom reaching alarming proportions, and the proportions of obese Saudis more alarming than those of any other nationality, dieting and exercise are becoming increasingly fashionable.
Walking in particular, a gentle and inexpensive form of exercise, is becoming more widespread in the car-crazy and home-bound Kingdom, perhaps aided by the dramatic fall in per capita income in recent years.
“Walking seems to appeal to people of all ages now, and in the evenings you can see a lot of people out getting some exercise,” Amjad Rana, a health and hygiene expert, told Arab News.
But Dr. Rana said that there were other reasons for the exercise and dieting fad. Medical experts believe that behind the boom is a social pathology caused by the rising number of obese people, in part a response to the dire warnings about obesity widely publicized in the media.
Many of the health-conscious interviewed by Arab News said exercise was essential for the health of people of every age.
“Physical fitness is important for me,” said Danilo Lojada, 41, a Filipino jogger. “There is no pressure on me from my family or peers to jog and reduce my weight. But jogging is essential in Saudi Arabia, where we have a lot of fat and carbohydrates in our diet. We’ve got to find a way to burn it all off,” he added.
“In Saudi Arabia there is an emerging trend for families to look for slim brides, and there seems to be a growing dislike for obese girls and boys,” said Ahmad Al-Kudairy, who regularly exercises at his local gym.
“People are becoming obese earlier and earlier,” he said. “It’s a shame seeing Saudis as young as that unable to pray properly in the mosques because of all the extra flesh on their bodies.”
Unofficial statistics indicate that one out of every four or five primary and secondary school students in Saudi schools is obese.
The children of long-term expatriates are not spared, exposed as they are to the sedentary lifestyle and vast proportions of food consumed in the Kingdom.
“My wife and I and one of my kids are currently on diet and are cutting down on fatty foods,” said Jarraf Arabaj, an Egyptian. He said that he did not join a health club because they are expensive but instead goes walking at a brisk pace for 45 minutes every evening near the King Fahd Medical City.
A study reveals that 36.6 percent of subjects had normal weight while 34.8 percent were overweight and 26.9 percent moderately obese. According to the study by three Saudi experts — Dr. Sulaiman Al-Shammari, Tawfik A. Khoja and Muhammad A. Maatouq — a large number of Saudis are unaware of the problems associated with obesity.
But a growing number of Saudis and expatriates, in part due to relentless media bombardment with images of slim singers and movie stars, are becoming weight-conscious. Low-fat and diet foods are flooding into Saudi Arabia as the number of weight watchers continues to explode. Skipping meals has become a fashion, especially among working women, who are now coming to the offices with nothing more than a thermos full of tea or coffee to sustain them through the day.
“You’re not going to lose weight quickly by just dieting,” said Ahsan Kamal, a Pakistani jogger, who has reduced his weight from 90 kg to 72 kg in 16 months. Kamal says his doctor recommended five or six hours of vigorous walking per week.
Doctors say that the cost of a healthy lifestyle and minimizing preventable risk factors such as high cholesterol levels, smoking, obesity and inactivity represents only a tiny fraction of the expense of treating established heart disease or recovering from a heart attack or stroke.
Waddle while you walk!
RIYADH, 13 October 2003 — With obesity in the Kingdom reaching alarming proportions, and the proportions of obese Saudis more alarming than those of any other nationality, dieting and exercise are becoming increasingly fashionable.
Walking in particular, a gentle and inexpensive form of exercise, is becoming more widespread in the car-crazy and home-bound Kingdom, perhaps aided by the dramatic fall in per capita income in recent years.
“Walking seems to appeal to people of all ages now, and in the evenings you can see a lot of people out getting some exercise,” Amjad Rana, a health and hygiene expert, told Arab News.
But Dr. Rana said that there were other reasons for the exercise and dieting fad. Medical experts believe that behind the boom is a social pathology caused by the rising number of obese people, in part a response to the dire warnings about obesity widely publicized in the media.
Many of the health-conscious interviewed by Arab News said exercise was essential for the health of people of every age.
“Physical fitness is important for me,” said Danilo Lojada, 41, a Filipino jogger. “There is no pressure on me from my family or peers to jog and reduce my weight. But jogging is essential in Saudi Arabia, where we have a lot of fat and carbohydrates in our diet. We’ve got to find a way to burn it all off,” he added.
“In Saudi Arabia there is an emerging trend for families to look for slim brides, and there seems to be a growing dislike for obese girls and boys,” said Ahmad Al-Kudairy, who regularly exercises at his local gym.
“People are becoming obese earlier and earlier,” he said. “It’s a shame seeing Saudis as young as that unable to pray properly in the mosques because of all the extra flesh on their bodies.”
Unofficial statistics indicate that one out of every four or five primary and secondary school students in Saudi schools is obese.
The children of long-term expatriates are not spared, exposed as they are to the sedentary lifestyle and vast proportions of food consumed in the Kingdom.
“My wife and I and one of my kids are currently on diet and are cutting down on fatty foods,” said Jarraf Arabaj, an Egyptian. He said that he did not join a health club because they are expensive but instead goes walking at a brisk pace for 45 minutes every evening near the King Fahd Medical City.
A study reveals that 36.6 percent of subjects had normal weight while 34.8 percent were overweight and 26.9 percent moderately obese. According to the study by three Saudi experts — Dr. Sulaiman Al-Shammari, Tawfik A. Khoja and Muhammad A. Maatouq — a large number of Saudis are unaware of the problems associated with obesity.
But a growing number of Saudis and expatriates, in part due to relentless media bombardment with images of slim singers and movie stars, are becoming weight-conscious. Low-fat and diet foods are flooding into Saudi Arabia as the number of weight watchers continues to explode. Skipping meals has become a fashion, especially among working women, who are now coming to the offices with nothing more than a thermos full of tea or coffee to sustain them through the day.
“You’re not going to lose weight quickly by just dieting,” said Ahsan Kamal, a Pakistani jogger, who has reduced his weight from 90 kg to 72 kg in 16 months. Kamal says his doctor recommended five or six hours of vigorous walking per week.
Doctors say that the cost of a healthy lifestyle and minimizing preventable risk factors such as high cholesterol levels, smoking, obesity and inactivity represents only a tiny fraction of the expense of treating established heart disease or recovering from a heart attack or stroke.
Guardian Unlimited Politics | Special Reports | MoD chief in fraud cover-up row
Go to link for original letters
MoD chief in fraud cover-up row
Role of Sir Kevin Tebbit exposed in letters
David Leigh and Rob Evans
Monday October 13, 2003
The Guardian
The personal role of Sir Kevin Tebbit, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Defence, in an alleged cover-up of major fraud and corruption is exposed in letters seen by the Guardian.
Sir Kevin, the MoD's top official, failed to follow up for two years allegations that the arms firm BAE Systems ran a slush fund designed to bribe Saudi officials.
"I have no wish to set damaging hares running," Sir Kevin wrote in a "personal and confidential" letter to the head of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), who had brought the allegations against BAE to his attention. They raised "sensitive issues", he said.
The MoD delayed for the past month in releasing to the Guardian two letters from Sir Kevin disclosable under the open government access code. Sir Kevin is revealed in the correspondence to have:
· Tipped off the chairman of BAE, Sir Richard Evans, about the contents of a confidential SFO letter
· Failed to fulfil a promise to the SFO to notify them of the outcome of his "detailed investigations".
Sir Kevin prevented the MoD's fraud squad from investigating the case, and also withheld the SFO's warnings from the defence secretary, Geoff Hoon.
Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat industry spokesman, said last night that he was asking the attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, to intervene.
"The fact that the MoD is taking refuge in assurances from BAE reinforces the widespread belief that the relationship between BAE and MoD is incestuous and unhealthily close," he said.
Once the Guardian revealed the existence of the slush fund allegations last month, Sir Kevin defended himself in a second private letter to the head of the SFO.
On September 12, he wrote to Robert Wardle, SFO director, saying his failure to follow up the matter, as promised, was "a bureaucratic hitch".
Sir Kevin maintained "somewhat to my embarrassment" that it had been forgotten about, due to "a move of office location and changeover of private secretaries at exactly that time".
He also tried to persuade Mr Wardle that the MoD had no responsibility for allegedly fraudulent BAE invoices submitted to the Saudi government under the Al-Yamamah government-to-government arms deals.
"The MoD only endorses invoices under the Al-Yamamah project which relate to specific goods and services provided to Saudi Arabia," he wrote. Sir Kevin said the suspect invoices "do not fit into this category and are entirely a matter for BAE".
Last night the original complainant, Edward Cunningham, a former employee of RLI, a front company involved, said this claim was false.
All the payments made through RLI were recharged by BAE to the Saudi government under the budget heading "visa services" he said. "The Saudis were defrauded and the MoD endorsed it."
The Saudi government pays the MoD a hefty annual fee to ensure that BAE meets its contractual arrangements under the arms deals. Last year they paid in the region of £30m. (The MoD does not release the exact figure.)
Mr Cable said he was referring the case to the attorney general because "Sir Kevin's letters raise as many questions as they answer"
"My understanding is that some of the key disclaimers about MoD responsibility are probably factually wrong and need to be more thoroughly investigated by a responsible body which has no direct interest in the matter," he added.
The most unexpected disclosure in the correspondence is that, although Sir Kevin was warned in confidence that Sir Richard had been accused of personal complicity, one of the first things he did was to tip him off.
The then head of the SFO, Rosalind Wright, had warned him in March 2001 that, according to the complainant alleging fraud, "Sir Richard Evans has been made aware of it but either is prepared to tolerate it or, conceivably, is in some way complicit".
Sir Kevin later disclosed however: "I did draw your letter personally to the attention of Sir Richard Evans."
He added: "The chairman told me this was an old story and reaffirmed BAE's commitment to operating within the law in all countries in which the company was involved. He said the allegations had been investigated previously without finding any evidence of fraud".
BAE internal files contradict this.
A BAE security report marked "commercial in secret" records "A number of documents... appear to support the allegations".
Subsequent minutes show that BAE executives planned to "square off" the original complainant, cut off access to funds by alleged fraudsters and bring the situation "under control".
Sir Kevin replied to the SFO on May 24 2001: "I have no wish to set damaging hares running, but given the sensitive issues raised in your letter, I have conducted a discreet initial exploration of the allegations' implications... am undertaking more detailed investigations to establish any implications for the depart ment, and I will let you know the outcome."
The SFO head was sufficiently reassured to write to the original complainants, promising: "Should the ministry uncover sufficient evidence which would justify... an investigation, I am confident they will refer the matter back to us." But the MoD remained silent thereafter.
Mr Cunningham, who went with his solicitor to the SFO with the original documents, said: "I believed a police investigation was taking place. But now I think I was simply lied to".
We put the specific allegations against Sir Kevin to the MoD last week. The ministry did not respond.
Go to link for original letters
MoD chief in fraud cover-up row
Role of Sir Kevin Tebbit exposed in letters
David Leigh and Rob Evans
Monday October 13, 2003
The Guardian
The personal role of Sir Kevin Tebbit, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Defence, in an alleged cover-up of major fraud and corruption is exposed in letters seen by the Guardian.
Sir Kevin, the MoD's top official, failed to follow up for two years allegations that the arms firm BAE Systems ran a slush fund designed to bribe Saudi officials.
"I have no wish to set damaging hares running," Sir Kevin wrote in a "personal and confidential" letter to the head of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), who had brought the allegations against BAE to his attention. They raised "sensitive issues", he said.
The MoD delayed for the past month in releasing to the Guardian two letters from Sir Kevin disclosable under the open government access code. Sir Kevin is revealed in the correspondence to have:
· Tipped off the chairman of BAE, Sir Richard Evans, about the contents of a confidential SFO letter
· Failed to fulfil a promise to the SFO to notify them of the outcome of his "detailed investigations".
Sir Kevin prevented the MoD's fraud squad from investigating the case, and also withheld the SFO's warnings from the defence secretary, Geoff Hoon.
Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat industry spokesman, said last night that he was asking the attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, to intervene.
"The fact that the MoD is taking refuge in assurances from BAE reinforces the widespread belief that the relationship between BAE and MoD is incestuous and unhealthily close," he said.
Once the Guardian revealed the existence of the slush fund allegations last month, Sir Kevin defended himself in a second private letter to the head of the SFO.
On September 12, he wrote to Robert Wardle, SFO director, saying his failure to follow up the matter, as promised, was "a bureaucratic hitch".
Sir Kevin maintained "somewhat to my embarrassment" that it had been forgotten about, due to "a move of office location and changeover of private secretaries at exactly that time".
He also tried to persuade Mr Wardle that the MoD had no responsibility for allegedly fraudulent BAE invoices submitted to the Saudi government under the Al-Yamamah government-to-government arms deals.
"The MoD only endorses invoices under the Al-Yamamah project which relate to specific goods and services provided to Saudi Arabia," he wrote. Sir Kevin said the suspect invoices "do not fit into this category and are entirely a matter for BAE".
Last night the original complainant, Edward Cunningham, a former employee of RLI, a front company involved, said this claim was false.
All the payments made through RLI were recharged by BAE to the Saudi government under the budget heading "visa services" he said. "The Saudis were defrauded and the MoD endorsed it."
The Saudi government pays the MoD a hefty annual fee to ensure that BAE meets its contractual arrangements under the arms deals. Last year they paid in the region of £30m. (The MoD does not release the exact figure.)
Mr Cable said he was referring the case to the attorney general because "Sir Kevin's letters raise as many questions as they answer"
"My understanding is that some of the key disclaimers about MoD responsibility are probably factually wrong and need to be more thoroughly investigated by a responsible body which has no direct interest in the matter," he added.
The most unexpected disclosure in the correspondence is that, although Sir Kevin was warned in confidence that Sir Richard had been accused of personal complicity, one of the first things he did was to tip him off.
The then head of the SFO, Rosalind Wright, had warned him in March 2001 that, according to the complainant alleging fraud, "Sir Richard Evans has been made aware of it but either is prepared to tolerate it or, conceivably, is in some way complicit".
Sir Kevin later disclosed however: "I did draw your letter personally to the attention of Sir Richard Evans."
He added: "The chairman told me this was an old story and reaffirmed BAE's commitment to operating within the law in all countries in which the company was involved. He said the allegations had been investigated previously without finding any evidence of fraud".
BAE internal files contradict this.
A BAE security report marked "commercial in secret" records "A number of documents... appear to support the allegations".
Subsequent minutes show that BAE executives planned to "square off" the original complainant, cut off access to funds by alleged fraudsters and bring the situation "under control".
Sir Kevin replied to the SFO on May 24 2001: "I have no wish to set damaging hares running, but given the sensitive issues raised in your letter, I have conducted a discreet initial exploration of the allegations' implications... am undertaking more detailed investigations to establish any implications for the depart ment, and I will let you know the outcome."
The SFO head was sufficiently reassured to write to the original complainants, promising: "Should the ministry uncover sufficient evidence which would justify... an investigation, I am confident they will refer the matter back to us." But the MoD remained silent thereafter.
Mr Cunningham, who went with his solicitor to the SFO with the original documents, said: "I believed a police investigation was taking place. But now I think I was simply lied to".
We put the specific allegations against Sir Kevin to the MoD last week. The ministry did not respond.
