If it was in my domain, I would definitely do so. I would make it an obligation for everyone to take exercise daily and eat a healthier diet. However, it is in no way in my control, and living in Doha, I too am struggling with keeping my weight in the normal range and, although not impossible, it is pretty hard. Especially here given the weather, high-calorie foods and a culture of sedentariness.

However, it is a problem that has huge proportions. Its impact upon human society is much more than we might imagine. The burden of overweight, obesity, diabetes, heart and brain problems is much more than most of us are aware of. If not for ourselves, at least, we need to think for our kids and our future generations.

If the menace of obesity was not checked, we will very soon find people in their teens and twenties dying of heart attacks and strokes. The burden of diabetes would be simply unbearable. The compromise it would cause in terms of productivity is just apart from all this and is no less catastrophic.

I do not want to sound too technical, or too grim, but I think it is important to promote awareness of a problem that belongs to no single person or region but which is a communal problem and must be tackled as such.