Privilege Pulls Qatar Toward Unhealthy Choices
Qataris eating fast food in Doha. According to the International Association for the Study of Obesity, Qatar ranks sixth globally for prevalence of obesity.
By MICHAEL SLACKMAN
It has the second highest per capita gross domestic product in the world and the third largest proven reserves of natural gas. But it also ranks high in some less enviable categories, having among the greatest prevalence of obesity, diabetes and genetic disorders in the world, according to international and local health experts.
Native Qataris, who number only about 250,000 in a nation of 1.6 million, are suffering serious health problems that relate directly to a privileged lifestyle paid for with the nation’s oil wealth, as well as a determination to hold onto social traditions, like having young people marry their cousins.
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