Dubai: When it comes to the race to being the fittest, certain expatriate groups in the UAE stand out.
Zurich International Life has recently analyzed the body mass index (BMI) of more than 20,000 UAE residents who have applied to purchase life insurance or critical illness.
BMI indicates whether a person is underweight or obese. It is one of the health indicators that insurers use when evaluating applications for life insurance and critical illness cover.
A high BMI increases a person’s risk of developing health-related illnesses, including cardiovascular diseases and certain cancers. Data from the World Health Organisation showed that at least 2.8 million people die each due to being obese or overweight.
Zurich’s analysis showed that the applicants with the healthiest BMI are the Chinese. The average BMI for a Chinese resident in the UAE is 23 and only 27.3 per cent were found to be overweight or obese.
Second on the list are the residents from the Philippines, with the average BMI of 24.34. Expatriates from Italy came third with 25.01 BMI, while France secured the fourth place (25.10) and Bangladesh (25.17).
“Zurich’s analysis [found that] nationality has a bearing on BMI,” the company said.
Applicants from Egypt, however, registered the highest BMI at 27.6, followed by residents from Jordan (27.15). More than three-quarters of Egyptian and Jordanian residents were found to be overweight or obese.
The third-highest BMI was noted among applicants from Bahrain (26.97), followed by UAE (26.54) and South Africa (26.51).
Jacob Chacko Kuttickal, specialist cardiologist at the Prime Medical Centre in Jumeirah, said that a high BMI increases the risk of many health problems, mainly heart disease, diabetes and some cancers.
“BMI is a simple method for understanding if you fall into the overweight or obese categories and if you are susceptible to some of these health risks,” Kuttickal said.
Overall, Zurich found that nearly half of the UAE residents (47.5 per cent) are overweight with a BMI between 25 and 30, and another 13 per cent are obese with a BMI of over 30.
